Don't Wake Me When It's Over
by mav32
Summary: Adam has always been terrified of his boss, only now he has a good reason- he may have accidentally killed him. Contains the whole team. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I really love Adam. I find him hilarious and adorable. So in my organic chemistry lab, when I accidentally dropped an extremely hot metal block under cold water and scalded my poor fingers to death on the steam, I got to thinking about lab accidents- and what could go wrong in the CSI lab. Obviously, my mind took it many steps farther and this was born. Contains hurtMac, because I'm me- so also a blood warning.

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><p>Mac Taylor strode down the glass-lined hallways of his lab, casually checking on his employees as he passed the various sections. The cleaning crew sure hated this floor- for admittedly more reasons than the amount of glass- but he loved it. He was almost positive the lack of opaque walls accounted for his labs high efficiency rating.<p>

There was still the occasional slacker, seen in a sudden flurry of activity as he passed. More often than not, that person turned out to be Adam. The kid was a genius, and it was a good thing too or the number of reprimands he'd received would have ended in losing his job long ago. Mac attributed it to boredom. He was too smart for his own good.

Still, Mac had a soft spot for the socially awkward tech. He meant well, tried hard, and was scared to death of his boss. Most employees learned within the first year of employment that Mac's hard exterior only barely managed to cover who he really was- quick to offer comfort and wielding a quick wit and smile. Adam knew this, had seen it even, and still he shook every time he had to enter Mac's office.

The lab really wouldn't be the same without him. He offered the comic relief the lab desperately needed after a tough case or long week. Often the looks Mac gave Adam were covering a smile or a laugh just beneath the surface. He was the boss after all. It helped to keep order if your employees took you seriously.

As he neared the trace lab, Mac could see Adam working alongside Kendall. He really didn't get those two. Adam was highly competitive with his job, especially when it came to the women who he saw as a threat to it. Kendall was definitely one of those women. However, the amount of competition and flirting going on was about equal. Overall Adam was highly conflicted. It was amusing to watch so long as Adam remained productive.

As Mac watched Adam leave the experiment he was working on to chase after Kendall, shouting something at her as he went, Mac realized that productivity had just gone out the window.

With a sigh, he turned around to head for the door to shut off the burner that was currently fueling some unknown boiling substance now emitting copious amounts of vapor. Wondering if he could possibly write a schedule that kept those two apart, Mac reached for the door.

That's when the world exploded.

Lindsay was getting ready to head home. Between Stella being out, looking for a new apartment after her last one had been set on fire, and avoiding Danny as much as possible, it had been a long day. She spotted Mac walking toward her from the other end of the lab and raised her hand to wave goodnight, but he suddenly became distracted, his face twisting into a grimace as he stopped and turned around, reaching for something. She never saw what.

In a split second, the entire hallway had disappeared in an explosion of glass and smoke. The shockwave nearly knocked her off her feet. Alarms blared, the noise and haze only adding to the confusion as lab techs scrambled frantically for safety.

They pushed past Lindsay as she stood, stock-still in the middle of the hallway. Memories unbidden of the explosion nearly two years ago that had almost taken Flack's life played across her mind. Smoke and an eerie silence had hung in the air as blood and soot covered bystanders struggled to make sense of the chaos.

A pair of hands suddenly grabbed her, pulling her to the wall and safety from the thronging crowd. "You okay, Montana?" She looked up to see Danny, still holding her against him.

"Yeah, yeah..." She nodded, shaking herself out of her daze. Then it hit her. "Mac." Lindsay broke free from Danny's grasp and ran. "Mac!"

Adam's world was a haze of pain and smoke. He would have remained on the floor, wishing away the stinging pain in his pack, if not for the weak movement coming from underneath him. He forced his eyes open, blinking rapidly against the burning smoke. As his vision cleared, he slowly remembered. Kendall. Had he pushed her out of the way? No…there was no warning. He had simply been close enough to catch the brunt of the force and knock her over in the process. _So heroic_, he thought sarcastically.

She stirred again, shards of glass falling from her blond hair as she struggled to sit up. Adam quickly crawled off her, biting back a whimper of pain as his back stung. "Kendall." His mouth had moved, and he was almost positive a sound had come out, but it was muffled, as if he were speaking into a pillow.

He sat back heavily, shifting his jaw as if to get his ears to pop- like that was the problem. Kendall turned to face him. She looked okay aside from a small cut on her cheek. Her mouth was moving too, but he couldn't have guessed at what she was saying. Anything between "are you okay?" and "you idiot!" would have been equally plausible. Adam shook his head, wincing at the sudden flair of pain it caused. Kendall's face contorted into what must have been concern. He wished he could have milked that for all it was worth, but he had more pressing questions, like what the _hell_ just happened?

The smoke was clearing, but visibility was still low. He could barely see 20 feet in any direction, but everywhere he looked, he saw much of the same- broken glass, overturned chairs, tables and equipment. Only things that were bolted down or built in remained standing. He felt Kendall's hand on his cheek and jerked away as her probing fingers touched upon an oozing gash in his forehead.

Adam gave her an apologetic look and held out a hand to help her up as he stood, unsteadily gaining his feet under him. They were just outside the trace lab, having been walking through the doors when the explosion happened. Only the glass paneled walls nearest them were still intact. The other side of the room was in pieces, completely open to the hallway.

He could see a few fellow lab techs shifting through the debris, but they all seemed reasonably okay. Luckily the lab was winding down for the night and only a skeleton crew of employees were still working at the time of the blast. As Adam slowly shuffled through the crunching glass under his feet, he realized the surrounding rooms were relatively untouched. Reconstruction just one door down had seemingly suffered only a cracked window where a chair had hit it. The AV lab, sitting just across the hall and one door over looked perfect.

The trace lab seemed to be the hardest hit. The west wall was gone, as well as the wall of the lab across the hall. He suddenly noticed the flurry of activity there and thought he recognized Lindsay and Danny through the smoke. He suspicions were confirmed as Lindsay suddenly stood, looking frantic as she spun around, her mouth wide as she screamed something. Her eyes landed on Adam and she repeated her yell.

He made his way toward her as quickly as he could manage, slipping on panes of shattered glass as he went. He stepped over the metal frame that once housed the wall and tried as best he could to understand what Lindsay was so worried about. Her mouth kept moving, and all he could do was shake his head. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see that Kendall had followed him. She was saying something to Lindsay, probably explaining that Adam couldn't hear a word she said.

Suddenly Kendall was gone, running down the hall toward the elevator, leaving Adam confused, staring at Lindsay for direction. She quickly motioned for him to join her. She dropped to a crouch beside Danny, who Adam suddenly noticed was only a few feet away, kneeling over somebody on the ground. Lindsay grabbed Adam and pulled off his lab coat, balling it before shoving it back into his hands. She grabbed him again and pulled him to the ground beside her, guiding his hands to press down over a gaping wound on the body's shoulder.

Lindsay shifted and pulled the unconscious man's head into her lap. Adam froze. He hadn't even realized… Hadn't seen… Through all the blood it was a miracle he even recognized him at all. The man was Mac.

His boss's face was half streaked with blood. His red button up shirt was ripped and soaked - not a red shirt, Adam realized in horror as he glanced at the unstained, blue cuff at his side. Glass shards were protruding from his side- his left side, Adam noted. That's where most of the blood was concentrated. He must have been at an angle to the blast- Adam cursed himself. What was he doing? Analyzing a crime scene? His boss was bleeding to death, for crying out loud!

Adam shook his head and glanced up at Lindsay, carefully cradling Mac's head as she muttered something, whether it was to Danny or Mac, he couldn't be sure. Danny was using his own shirt to staunch the bleeding in Mac's chest.

Adam squeezed his eyes shut. What was going on? He couldn't help it as his mind wandered back to the forensics of it all. It was his own coping mechanism…just figure out the science, emotions could follow when he was done. If he let them surface now...he'd never get back.

_Focus, Adam._

The trace lab was the origin… he had been leaving there…chasing after Kendall. He couldn't remember why. It didn't matter. Did it?

What had he been doing in trace? He was finishing up some testing on a sample… and then…

Adam's breath caught in his throat. _The sample_. He turned to look behind him, at the table where it had been…where he had left it- alone.

The explosion was _his_ fault.

He had just killed his boss.

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><p>AN: Adam is so fun to write. Please please please leave a review! I'd really appreciate it. Some answers...and a few new questions... in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you so very much everyone who reviewed! And story alerts are good to see too. Made my weekend! This chapter, help arrives and the team tries to figure out what happened... Bit of a filler, but important anyways. Oh, and enjoy my pseudo science about midway through. Did I mention I almost failed organic chemistry?

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><p>Don Flack had had a relatively blissful day. He couldn't have asked for a much better one as a cop. He'd collared a few thugs, had lunch with Angell, and had plans with Danny for tonight at their favorite bar. The last one was more for Danny than Flack. The guy had been having a tough time since his neighbor died. Not that he would talk about it at all, but that's what getting drunk was for.<p>

Don was still a half block away from the building that housed the crime lab when he realized something was wrong. He had fought his way there through the usual Friday night crowds on the sidewalks, but those people had been happily chatting friends ready for a night out or well-dressed co-workers relieved that the weekend had finally arrived. The crowd gathered in front of him was a panicking mass, made up predominately of lab coats.

He suddenly became aware of the chorus of sirens drawing closer.

Flack whipped out his badge, hoping it would get him through the horde of people faster, but just ended up shoving his way through anyways. When he reached the front, he found the building's security guards holding the bystanders at bay. Don flashed his shield at the nearest guard as the first police cruisers arrived. "Hey, what's goin' on?"

The guard, who must have just had his very first taste of authority and was puffing out his chest in pride, suddenly deflated in the detective's presence. "Explosion on the 34th floor, Sir. I don't know any more than that."

Don swore. "I need to get up there _now_."

"We've been holding the elevators for EMS. You can ride up with them." The guard nodded over Flack's shoulder toward the recently arrived ambulance.

The paramedics offered no protest as climbed into the elevator with them and their equipment. The oddly silent ride seemed to take twice as long as usual. Finally, the digital screen read 34 and Don couldn't help but repeatedly press the "door open" button until the metal doors slid open. He slid through the slowly widening gap as soon as it was wide enough for him to fit through. As he stumbled onto the floor, he almost checked the plaque above the elevator to make sure it was the correct level. Aside from being completely empty, the lab looked about as it did every other day of the week.

Someone suddenly bowled into his shoulder from behind, nearly knocking him over. He heard a hasty "sorry" and turned to see a woman in a lab coat running past him. "Hey wait!" The woman barely turned, looking impatient and worried. "What's going on?"

She spotted the paramedics emerging from behind him and relief flooded her face. "Over here!" She cried as she took off.

As soon as he turned the corner, Don realized what the guard had meant by explosion. Smoke still hung over the shattered glass and toppled equipment lying at the far side of the hallway. He continued to follow the woman to the heart of the damage. The paramedics were right on their heels, moving only slightly slower as they hefted their equipment along.

Don spotted Lindsay first. She was sitting on the ground in an office to his left. The glass covering the floor must have been the wall at one point. Kneeling next to her were Danny and Adam, and in the middle, lying on the ground in a pool of growing blood… "Oh hell, Mac."

Danny heard the familiar voice behind him and whirled around. "Don!" Behind him was Kendall, who Lindsay had sent to fetch towels earlier. It seemed that she had brought back the paramedics instead, but he wouldn't complain about that.

The EMTs immediately set to work, one of them grabbing the shirt from Danny's hands as he took over. Another one gently pulled back a very shell-shocked Adam as he took his place. Lindsay never left her spot, cradling Mac's head above the glass-strewn floor. She filled the paramedics in and answered their questions while the rest of them stood back, watching in silence. Emergency personnel were already swarming the rest of the 34th floor, but no one took notice.

After what felt like ages, but must have been less than a couple minutes, the paramedics had loaded Mac onto a board and were carrying him back down the hallway, Lindsay in tow. She would go to the hospital and update the group on his condition. It wasn't until the EMTs were out of sight that Danny got a good look at the uncharacteristically silent lab tech beside him. Adam had a good sized cut on his forehead, but that was nothing compared to the bloody mess that was his back.

"Adam, you're bleedin', buddy."

Flack let out a low whistle. "You need to get checked out."

"Blast knocked out his hearing." Kendall, who was usually confident and forward seemed withdrawn as she explained.

Danny sighed. "Right…" he muttered. "Take him downstairs, make sure he gets to a hospital."

Kendall nodded and grabbed Adam's arm. The poor kid had to be in shock. He practically had to be dragged away, his eyes fixated on the blood staining the ground in front of them.

"Danny, what the hell happened, man?" Flack asked, throwing his arms up as he finally took in the damage surrounding him.

"I don't know." Danny said, shrugging hopelessly. "There was no warnin', nothin'. One second I'm walkin' down the hall, the next it's gone an' Mac…" He shook his head.

"I always thought glass walls were a bad idea in here." Flack said, kicking aside some of the pellets near his feet.

"It's tempered. It's supposed to break into tiny cubes, not shards. It's safer."

"Well, there were definitely shards sticking out of Mac's body, so where'd they come from?"

Danny sighed, he needed to stop thinking about Mac and start processing this as a crime scene. He slowly spun around, taking everything in. After a few minutes, he stepped across the hallway and into what used to be the trace lab. "Alright, we can assume it originated here."

"I dunno. You're going out on a limb there." Flack muttered sarcastically.

Danny, who usually appreciated Don's quips and shot back with his own, didn't respond. He instead tried to picture what used to be there. "There wasn't a lot of smoke involved. Not a lot of pyrotechnics would mean a quick release of energy. It used up everything in one go, nothing left over to burn. That much raw energy would mean a lot of force…"

"-Turning your safe pellets into projectiles?" Flack suggested.

"That… and anything else in its way." Danny finished, remembering the cabinets that had lined the wall. "The windows on the stock cabinets weren't tempered, neither are the flasks and test tubes, and maybe even the table that was here too."

"Plenty of ammunition there." Flack nodded. "So you know where the shards came from, but why?"

Danny bit his lip as he looked around. "Some of this glass is blackened, and only in this area. I don't see anything out of place."

"No pieces of a bomb, you mean." Flack said.

"Nah, characteristics of this explosion are inconsistent with your typical bomb. There are plenty of volatile chemicals in here."

"So are we looking at an accident?"

"One way to be sure…" Danny bent down, picking up a few pieces of blackened glass shards. He looked up at Flack with a grimace. "You any good at puzzles?"

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><p>Sounds slowly began to filter through Adam's damaged ears as he made his way out of the building. Well, either that or the cacophony of noises from the ambulances, firetrucks and police cruisers was just loud enough to be heard despite his ear drums' best effort to mute them. His head was starting to pound in time to the flashing lights.<p>

Kendall was still pushing him along and luckily the blood soaking his face and clothing was enough to convince people to move out of their way. Paramedics soon found him and ushered him into a waiting ambulance where one other lab tech was being checked over. As the doors slammed shut, the world became wonderfully silent again.

An EMT attempted to evaluate him for a concussion, but the voice still sounded far away and he was unable to make out the words. He could have guessed what the EMT was asking from the standard pool of questions for determining the severity of head wounds, but was afraid if he answered "what's your name?" to the actual question "who is the current president?" he might be giving them a false positive or even be considered insane.

Adam got his point across easily enough, leaving the EMT to check over his vitals. For the rest of the trip, Adam attempted and failed at removing the image of his bleeding boss from his mind. Part of him thought maybe he deserved to be haunted by that image- it was his fault after all, in which case he also deserved the bloody gashes on his back. Getting treatment almost seemed unfair. Then again, even criminals received medical attention.

Adam's mind started to wander. Could he be charged for something like this? What if they thought it was on purpose? Would they call him a terrorist? If Mac died, would he get the death penalty? ...Would Mac die? It almost seemed ridiculous to ask. He'd always seen his boss as the invincible Marine he obviously was… So why had he been on that floor, his life draining out of him?

_Because of you_, a voice inside his head said rather bluntly. Adam shut his eyes tightly. It was right…

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><p>Stella had really been hoping that the first call she got about an explosion threatening the lives of her friends would be the last. She tried to tell herself the same thing as she had then- that if anyone could survive something like that it was Mac. He'd escaped twice before with only minor injuries. He hadn't been so lucky this time… she still held on to the thought. He could still survive.<p>

She was torn between going to the hospital and checking out things at the lab. As much as she hated it, the fact was she was in charge now. With the possibility that this had been an attack, it was her duty to be at the crime lab until everything was sorted out.

Danny was still there, directing operations until she arrived. He had been kicked off the floor until it had been deemed safe by the inspectors only minutes before she pulled up. The damage was limited to the walls and equipment, leaving the support structures uncompromised. The fume hoods had remained intact, isolating the most volatile of the chemicals, but a few stored in the stock cabinets had shattered. The spills were left where they were to preserve potential evidence. They would have to wear masks for protection against any harmful fumes, but Danny was more worried about the amount of glass they were dealing with. Stella understood the dangers of glass all too well…

Sheldon was on his way back in. Lindsay was at the hospital with strict instructions to call her once she found out anything. If not for the circumstances of this situation, Stella would have found it amusing that their resident forced glass expert, Adam, wouldn't have to help them piece the lab back together. He was being stitched up in the ER, apparently suffering multiple lacerations to his back. Kendall had stuck around, but Danny had suggested they leave her out of the cleanup-something about needing a break.

"How was he when they took him?" Stella asked Danny as he led her through the hallways.

Danny hesitated. "I'm not gonna lie, Stell. He didn't look good, but the medics said he was hangin' in there. Listen, we can handle this here if you want to go-."

Stella shook her head as she took in a deep, steadying breath. "No, I need to be here. Besides, Lindsay said surgery would last another few hours. I can't be sitting around waiting… I can't. I-I need to be here."

Danny nodded in understanding. "Alright. We got a tech getting our back-up machines up and working, so we can process now and start running tests when he's done. Flack is questioning witnesses downstairs and will get back to us with what he's got."

"Okay." Stella snapped on a pair of gloves as she surveyed the wreckage. "Let's get to work."

Stella appreciated the intensity required to process a scene like this. It prevented her mind from wandering too much. Danny had even offered to cover the area outside the trace lab, leaving her to the origin of the explosion.

When Sheldon arrived, Stella was focused on the blast pattern and didn't notice him for a few minutes. When she finally looked over, he was standing with Danny, staring down at the ground in the room across the hallway. "Hey, you two got something?"

"No." Danny shrugged and shook his head. "Nothin'." Sheldon was rubbing his thumb across his mouth, averting his eyes from the floor.

"What is it?" She asked again, stepping over the threshold of the hallway to join them.

"Stella." Hawkes blocked her from going further. "We got this part. Trust me. Anything relevant and you'll be the first to know."

"Sheldon..." She fixed him with a hard stare, but he didn't back down.

"Trust me." He said again. "You don't need to see it." When she continued to give him a suspicious look, he relented. "It's just blood, Stell."

She didn't have to ask who it belonged to. With a slow nod, she backed up and returned to the trace lab, her mind now racing. It wasn't that she was squeemish around blood. How could she be with her job? It was the fact that it was _ his_ blood, and by the look on Sheldon's face, the amount of his blood. They just couldn't catch a break, could they? First Mac's stalker who also turned out to be Stella's suitor, and then Danny's neighbor Reuben, and then her apartment burning down... now this. She looked hopelessly around her at the task that suddenly seemed impossible. There was no way they could solve this from a bunch of glass shards. And what good would it do if they did figure it out and Mac died anyways?

She stood up from where she was crouching, attempting to gather like shards, and took a few steps back and tried to do so mentally as well. She had to hold it together, to breathe. Stella shut her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, she saw it.

"Danny? Hawkes? You need to see this..."

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><p>AN: Ooo... Adam's in for it now. Next chapter is allll him, and possibly an update on Mac. :D Please drop a review, I'd love to hear from you!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you so so much for all your reviews. They absolutely brighten my day and really help me out when I'm writing. Sorry this took a couple days. This is actually probably the fastest I've ever updated, but still! So here's some promised Adam and Mac.

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><p>Adam felt like one mass of numb flesh, which was probably a good thing considering the amount of stitches he had received rivaled the amount of credits he'd taken to graduate college. Between the pain killers and local anesthetic, he was quite happy to lie on his stomach on the impossibly hard hospital bed, not having to move or think. Despite still being in the middle of a busy ER, his temporary deafness made him feel that he had some semblance of privacy, apart from the embarrassing hospital gown of course. Thankfully, they had let him keep his jeans, but the shirt was a definite no-go. Adam blamed the drugs as he almost laughed, wondering if Danny would get jealous if he had to walk around shirtless for a while.<p>

_If I'm allowed back in the lab that is,_ he realized with a sudden tightening of his throat. He hugged the object not worthy of being recognized as a pillow to his head as he shut his eyes tightly. His medication was apparently enough to make him a wreck, but not enough to get him to sleep. Every time he thought he had finally escaped the crushing guilt for a few minutes of peace, it popped up again, doing its best to suffocate him.

"Adam?"

He jumped, partially because he thought he was alone, and mostly because he could actually hear the voice. Adam bit back a wince, more out of anticipation of pain from the movement than anything, because the drugs had definitely done their job. He opened his eyes to see Lindsay sitting beside him. She had on her warm country-grown smile, though her eyes didn't reflect it. She looked tired, and worried.

"Hey, Linds…" He mumbled. He could hear himself clearly now, though between the pillow and his not quite 100% hearing, he still sounded slightly muffled, like he was hearing the conversation through a closed door.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Numb." He answered truthfully.

"That's good I guess." Lindsay's smile widened, obviously in an effort to cheer the tech up. Her thumb rubbed small circles across his skin where she held his arm.

He could only muster a fleeting upturn of one corner of his mouth in response. "How's Mac?"

Lindsay's smile became tight as she struggled to hold it together. Tears shone in her eyes. "Uh…" Her voice shook and she swallowed, glancing away before she continued. "I don't know. He's not out of surgery yet. They kept asking if he had family coming and wouldn't tell me anything until I flashed my badge at them. I just…couldn't wait alone anymore." A single tear slid down her cheek.

Adam did his best to wipe it away. "You can wait with me…"

She gave another smile. "Thanks."

It suddenly hit Adam how much Mac meant to the team- not just as a boss. The doctor had wanted to know if Mac had family coming? In a legal sense, the sad answer was no, but the lab really was family. Lindsay, who had left everyone she had known back in Montana had grown especially attached to the man. He took on a sort of fatherly role for her. Danny…Danny had had his fair share of clashes with Mac, but the fact was he kept going back for advice and even comfort- the rebellious child, Adam thought amusedly. That would make Hawkes the perfect son who didn't require much supervision, but needed a rap on the back of his head to bring him back to reality every once in a while. Flack was like Mac's little brother who he'd taken under his wing. Flack and Danny were friends, but there was a bond between Mac and Don that went beyond that. Everyone knew Mac and Stella had been friends for years and were about as close as two people could get.

Adam felt a sharp pain in his chest as he realized what he may have just taken from the team. Accident or not, he had no right… Did he appreciate Mac as much as they did?

Adam's relationship with the boss was a little harder to map out. He hadn't gotten along with his own father… Perhaps because of that, he was wary of authority figures, and Mac was the definition of authority. He, sort of, desperately sought the man's approval, and was terrified of making him mad. Granted Mac rarely lost his temper, and when he did, it was a few choice words and that was it. Still, it was the feeling of being worthless that got to Adam, and words were enough to get him there. Mac had only lost it with Adam once, but Stella had been there for damage control. She had assured Adam he hadn't done anything wrong, that Mac was just under a lot of stress, but the event still stuck with him.

Despite that, Adam realized that Mac may have actually made a conscious effort to go softer on him than the others. Mac was usually quick to offer him praise, and for all the times he'd done something wrong, there had only been that one time that he'd been reprimanded like that. All it took for Danny to get an earful was one slip up. Mac had protected him… and Adam had gotten him blown up.

"Lindsay?" She looked up, still battling away tears. "I-…I might have done something…something stupid."

"What are you talking about?" Lindsay asked, cocking her head as she gave him a thoughtful look.

Adam hesitated for a moment then launched into his rushed explanation. "I-I was testing the sample, i-it wasn't unstable, at least they told me it wasn't, so I didn't, I mean I was watching it, but- what I mean to say is-."

He stopped as he heard the sound of a cell phone going off. Lindsay gave him a sympathetic look as she brought the phone up. "Just hold on a second, Adam…breathe." She added before answering the call. "Monroe… Ok…ok thank you." Lindsay shut her eyes, squeezing out a few remaining tears.

"Who was that?"

Lindsay took a deep breath, her easy smile returning. "Mac's out of surgery. We can go see him."

Adam felt a surge of relief followed closely by absolute terror. "W-we?"

"Are you okay to leave?" Lindsay asked, looking him over.

"Uh… Yeah, they said I could leave when I was ready, I signed the papers and everything, I just gotta check in with them."

"Great. I'll update Stella while you get ready. Let me know if you need help." She added as she stepped beyond the curtain.

The hardest part about getting ready simply involved sitting up without stretching the stiches in his back. The drugs left him feeling slightly woozy, but the world was quick to right itself as he got to his feet. Luckily he could slip on his shoes without bending over. He wished he could pull on a shirt, but was left with the CSI windbreaker someone had thrown on him outside the lab and a hospital gown. He awkwardly tucked the gown into his jeans and pulled on the windbreaker, zipping it up to his neck.

Adam poked his head out of the curtained room and spotted Lindsay tearful, but smiling as she gave Stella an update in the waiting area. The doors were just beyond her. For a brief moment, Adam considered running. They would find out it had been his fault, and then they would turn on him…which he probably deserved. He made his way to the reception area and made sure he was fit to leave- out the front door if possible. He half-expected the nurse to tell him he couldn't go, that the police were coming to arrest him and take him to prison.

"You ready?" Lindsay asked, snapping him from his thoughts and effectively killing his plan as it formed.

"Yeah…"

She linked her arm in his as she helped him hobble to the elevators and down the hallway. If she hadn't been pulling him along, he was certain he couldn't have brought himself to make the walk. They were greeted at the front desk by who must have been Mac's doctor. Adam wasn't really paying attention, too busy wondering if the next window they passed would reveal his boss's body.

The doctor was explaining something about blood transfusions, damage to this that and the other, a possible head injury…

And then he saw him.

Adam had never seen his boss asleep, and was quite certain that no one else had either. The lacerations crisscrossing his face were on his left side, so while he looked pale, from Adam's position that was all it looked like Mac was doing. The machines and hanging bags certainly took away from that image, but it helped keep Adam sane for the time being. He hadn't killed his boss yet… But he had put him in that bed.

Adam didn't notice as the doctor left the two of them alone. Lindsay went to enter the room, but noticed the tech hadn't followed her.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, stopping in the doorway to cast him a concerned look.

"Y-yeah." Adam quickly cleared his throat, hoping she hadn't just heard the break in his voice. "It's just… It's Mac…"

A sympathetic smile crossed her face as she held out her hand. "Come on."

Adam followed her inside, and was forced to occupy the chair on Mac's left as Lindsay took the one on the right, placing Adam in full view of his boss's injuries. Sitting was surprisingly uncomfortable for more reasons than that. He couldn't lean back, he couldn't lean forward and even sitting upright caused the taught muscles in his back to stretch the sutures there. Adam settled with a slight side bend, leaning on one of the armrests.

Adam hadn't understood the phrasing of something being like watching a train wreck until then. He didn't want to see the bloody gashes and yet he couldn't look away. They continued down Mac's arms. Most were shallow scratches, some were steri-stripped and the deepest of them were covered with gauze. The skin was also mottled with several burns. The last time Adam had seen a living person look this bad was when he and Danny had been taken hostage almost a year ago. Adam quickly shook his head. He was dealing with enough at the moment, he didn't want to bring up that nightmare.

He and Lindsay sat in silence for almost 20 minutes before she spoke. "What were you going to say earlier?"

"Huh?" He finally tore his eyes away. Lindsay was hugging her knees to her chest as she curled up in the chair. "Oh…" He licked his lips. "Lindsay, what would you say if I told you this was my fault?"

"What?" She looked confused as a doubtful laugh escaped her lips. "What are you talking about?"

Adam was opening his mouth to answer when there was a soft knock at the door. Stella, a forced smile plastered on her face slowly entered, followed closely by Flack and Danny, who both looked nothing but serious.

"Hey," Lindsay greeted, immediately vacating her seat to offer Stella a hug.

"How's he doin'?" Danny asked, his arms crossed as he nodded toward their unconscious boss. He shifted restlessly from side to side, the only outward sign that he was worried.

"The doctor says he's optimistic. Mac lost a lot of blood, and some shards came dangerously close to several organs and arteries, but he's stable now. They're a little concerned about a head injury, but can't be sure until he wakes up."

"How soon will that be?" Flack asked, standing a ways back from the rest of the group as he avoided looking at his friend in the hospital bed.

Lindsay shrugged, "Just have to wait. They do have all the glass they removed from him ready to be sent to the lab."

"Kind of a horrible déjà vu, huh?" Stella remarked quietly as she glanced back at Flack who had been in an eerily similar situation 2 years prior. The young detective looked suddenly interested in the tiles under his feet.

"Did you find out anything at the lab?" Lindsay asked.

The tension in the room suddenly became tangible and almost suffocating. Adam could feel their eyes on him even though he kept his gaze firmly fixed on the floor.

"Maybe…" Stella answered, also avoiding eye contact.

Danny let out a heavy sigh, clearly resigning himself to the task. "Adam, we need to talk."

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><p>AN:I don't think they're going to talk about baseball, but I could be wrong. Is Adam rightfully paranoid? Anyways, please please drop a review and let me know what you think, what you like, want to see, don't want to see... I really appreciate your feedback! Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I really really appreciate all the wonderful reviews. You guys are great, and I love all the feedback. It's helped me immensely! This part jumps in just where the last chapter left off pretty much. A picture is starting to form...

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><p>"Were you working in trace when the explosion happened?"<p>

Adam's eyes darted around the hallway, as if looking for an escape or at least an excuse. Danny and Flack were flanking him as they made their way to a quiet part of the floor, making that option extremely unlikely, but he couldn't help his mind from wandering.

"Adam." Danny snapped, stopping Adam as he blocked his path. "Help us out, man."

"Yes. I was, I mean I wasn't in room exactly, at the time, but yeah."

"What do you mean?" Flack asked. He had his black memo book out, writing everything he said.

Adam hesitated, glancing between the memo book and the two men staring him down. "I left the room right before it happened. I-I shouldn't have, but I wasn't thinking…"

"Was anyone else in the room with you?" Flack asked, cutting him off.

"Kendall, but she left right before me. There wasn't anyone else."

"Were you working with acetylene?" Danny asked.

Adam's forehead furrowed in confusion. "No. I was trying to purify an unknown. Definitely wasn't acetylene."

Danny whipped out a GCMS print out and handed it over. "We found quite a lot of it in the lab. And a Hazardous Materials Identification sticker that matches the labels we find on the canisters it comes in."

"In trace?" Adam was thoroughly confused now. "We only use acetylene for carbon dating and maybe welding, why was it in trace?"

"Exactly." Danny sighed, sliding the paper back into a folder.

"So you didn't see anything out of the ordinary? Nothing at all?" Flack asked.

Adam's heart started to pound in his chest. "No, no, nothing, but I guess I wasn't really paying attention… So you're telling me that's what caused the explosion?"

Danny nodded. "So far as we can tell. Acetylene is known to cause violent explosions when under a lot of pressure."

"Tell me the events leading up to the explosion." Flack pressed. "Walk me through it."

Adam could hardly believe his ears and wasn't sure he should considering they hadn't been functioning an hour ago. Were they saying this wasn't his fault? He hadn't actually been responsible?

"Adam." Danny prodded. "Come on."

"Uh…" Adam fought to calm his heart thudding in his chest. "Kendall was working in trace with a few other techs when I got there. I went to talk to her. She said she was working on identifying some trace and needed a purer sample. I offered to help. After a few minutes, we started fighting. She left. I went after her. That's when it happened."

"What happened to the other techs?" Flack asked. At Adam's blank look, he went on, "You said when you got in there, there were more techs. When did they leave?"

Adam racked his brain, trying to remember. "Uh, must have been when we were fighting. I don't remember. They weren't there when I left."

"How many? Did you recognize them?"

"Two? I didn't get a good look. They were working on the other side of the lab, in the back."

Danny's face fell. "The east wall?"

"Yeah." Adam nodded. "Why?"

"Blast didn't originate there. We didn't find anything that could have acted as a detonator." Flack explained.

"What are you saying?" Adam asked slowly, dread slowly rising in his chest again.

"Something else set this off. You're sure you didn't see anything?"

"I'm sure! I was working with an open flame. I had to make sure the area was clear."

"Open flame?" Danny asked.

"Yes…" Adam froze, meeting Danny's gaze. "Did I do this?"

Danny and Flack exchanged glances before Flack spoke. "You said you left right before it went off?"

"Yeah…" Adam replied, feeling suddenly smaller and right back where he'd started. "After Kendall. Danny, she said the sample was safe. I swear, I didn't see anything. I didn't mean for this to happen. I shouldn't have left, I know-"

"Adam, Adam." Danny took a hold of the tech's shoulders. "If you hadn't left, you would be dead right now, okay? We don't know what caused this yet." He dropped his hands and started shifting his weight again. "It shouldn't have been there. You had no way of knowing that. Acetylene would have to be in direct contact with the heat source to explode like that. Even if it was a leak into the lab, the explosion wouldn't have been so concentrated. We just have to go back and piece it together."

Flack seemed hesitant. He tapped his pen on his memo book. "Adam, I have to warn you how this looks."

"Flack, it wasn't me. I swear." Adam pleaded.

"I'm not sayin' it was. Look, just make sure you tell me anything else you remember. Do you know where I can find Kendall? It would help if I had something to back you up."

Adam shook his head. "I haven't seen her since I left."

"She looked pretty shaken up." Danny sighed. "Maybe she went home."

"I'll try her cell and check her apartment." Flack sighed. "Danny, you get back to the lab. Give me something else to go on. This is looking less and less like an accident."

Adam looked a little fearfully at the detective. "Flack, can I be here?"

Don immediately looked sympathetic. "Yes, of course. I have officers coming up here right now. Protective detail for Mac and other lab employees. Until we know what's going on, I actually prefer you stay."

_To keep an eye on me, in case they need to arrest me_, Adam thought, his stomach churning.

"We'll figure this out, man." Danny said. He gently squeezed Adam's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."

With a last glance toward Mac's room, Danny left, Flack not far behind. The elevator was empty when they stepped inside but they each retreated to opposite corners like weary boxers before the final round.

Flack grasped the handrails on either side of him as he leaned back into the corner. He let his chin drop to his chest so Danny wouldn't see him shut his eyes. The memories washed over him in tidal waves, leaving barely enough time between sets to catch his breath before he was tumbling blindly through the water again.

Flack didn't remember much about the day of the explosion that nearly took his life. There were mostly bits and pieces, vague and fuzzy around the edges, only becoming clear during dreams. He did remember running through the building with Mac, trying to evacuate everyone. The kid with the headphones... That's when everything became hazy. He was certain Mac was there, saying something. He never heard what, but the familiar voice stuck with him. He held onto it. There was more, but it was too faint to recall. His next clear memory was about a week later.

Mac was actually the first person he saw on waking. He'd been sitting at his bedside, slouching actually. Even as drugged and confused as he was, that had struck Flack as significant. Mac never slouched. Flack guessed it was a Marine thing. They could have metal rods inserted in their spines as part of basic training for all he knew. He once heard a passing tech suggest that Mac had a rod inserted somewhere else, which had only made Mac laugh when Don brought it up later.

Even on the tail end of triple shifts, Mac approached crime scenes straight-backed and sharp-eyed. He might have had to rub the weariness from those eyes a few times when he thought no one was looking, but it was the only hint he ever gave that he was tired.

The Mac Don woke up to was not the stone-faced detective who executed every outward aspect of his life with military precision. His t-shirt was wrinkled, he'd apparently abandoned the military cut, letting his hair grow long enough to start to regain its loose curl and he probably hadn't shaved in a few days.

Mac had been staring, seemingly at nothing and hadn't noticed that Don was awake until a full minute later. When the detectives finally locked eyes, Don saw a week's worth of tension melt away as Mac smiled.

Mac had been the one to make sure Don was doing his rehab and had pressed him to go to a doctor when the pain had continued to flare up almost a year later. Frankly the experience had affected Mac more than it had Don. He hadn't understood why until now, when he'd come upon his friend bleeding on the floor. It changed you, seeing something like that. He was used to coming up on scenes where the body was already dead or being hauled away by EMTs- and he usually never knew the victim. He caught killers, he didn't save the dying. That was out of his hands, beyond his abilities. Mac had been dying and Flack had stood there and watched.

"Flack."

Don opened his eyes and looked up at Danny who had his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Hm?"

"Adam couldn't have done this. You know that."

Don's face fell. "Danny, you know it's not up to me. Anyone else and he would be in cuffs. Adam was the last one there. He was working at the blast origin. It's his word. That's it."

"Did you see that kid? He's torn up about this."

Don shook his head. "That's not good enough. Guilt isn't an alibi." Danny pushed off the wall angrily, coming at Don with clenched fists. "Hey!" Flack stepped up, now toe-to-toe with his friend. "I don't think it's him anymore than you do, but I don't have a choice! What would Mac say?" Danny seemed to be shrinking. He took a step back and kept shaking his head. "What would he say, Danny?" Flack repeated, softer this time.

"Follow the evidence." Danny muttered bitterly. He started to pace the elevator.

"Right now, that leads to Adam. You need to get me something, Danny. Anything. I guarantee you we're going to be pulled off this case by morning and they won't look nearly as hard for someone else. I'll find this Kendall chick and see what she says and hopefully that will give Adam some time, but you need to get something definitive over there."

Danny huffed out a breath and nodded a few times, never slowing his pace as he shuffled from one side of the elevator to the other.

"Now I don't have the authority to say this, but Stella should be with you at the lab, not here. We're looking at this as an attack now, not an accident. All hands on deck. She's the head right now, and she probably already knows this, but just in case. You can give her a little more time, I know she needed to see Mac, to know, but it's Adam on the line right now. Lindsay's here. She's got it covered… Mac's tough." Flack wasn't sure if the pain in his chest was the ever residual pain from his own explosion or from the emotion he was fighting to contain. Either way, he felt out of place. Yes, Flack had rank, but he had always bent to Mac's authority on cases. He didn't like taking his place. It should have been Mac saying this. It scared him a little bit how much like Mac he had sounded.

The elevator finally pinged and the doors opened into the hospital's main lobby. Danny finally stopped his pacing to exit. "You're right." He finally said. He looked up and met Flack's eyes. "I'll get it."

They paused on the sidewalk just outside the hospital doors. "Hurry, Messer."

They parted ways, each to his own car, each in search of something that would save the lab tech currently watching his boss from the other side of a hospital window who was just as convinced as ever that it was all his fault.

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><p>AN: Well I didn't get as far as I wanted with this one, but I REALLY like writing Flack. So I got carried away. Things start to pick up now, more clues, more answers, less questions. A big one gets answered in the next chapter, I can promise that. Please leave a review and let me know what you like, don't like, want to see, don't want to see! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I absolutely love my readers! Thanks so much for all your comments. I have to especially credit tlh45 for the idea for this chapter. I'd had something vague and horrible in mind and was only able to flesh it out and make it work with their wonderful suggestion. So thanks a bunch! Now I have to go study for O chem... I'd rather be blown up.

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><p>Danny always thought they should have had security cameras in the lab. He recognized that a good portion of the budget had gone into lab security, including guards, metal detectors and other screening processes, but none of those were much help when the problem was already <em>inside<em> the lab. If he had just had a camera on the trace lab when whatever it was happened, he could have this thing solved in minutes- but no. He was stuck sifting through glass piles again.

Sheldon and the recently arrived Stella were back at work like they had been only a couple hours ago. Danny left them to the blast site, which had been their focus the first time around, and instead went into the back corner where Adam said the other techs had been working when he came in. He didn't know what he was looking for. A sign with blinking neon arrows would be useful, pointing out exactly what he should be seeing…because he wasn't seeing it.

Between the millions of tiny shards coating the floor like sand from some beach in hell, and the lack of anything conclusive so far, Danny was beginning to believe that they wouldn't find anything. Another Mac saying came to mind, "We're never out of evidence." _Yeah, well why don't you come down here and show me where exactly. _Danny almost smiled. He could argue with Mac even when he wasn't there.

Danny let out a long sigh as he rose to his feet. Stella and Sheldon had amassed a pile of small metal fragments. The burn damage suggested that they might be from the container that had caused the explosion. If that was true, all it did was confirm their theory. No new leads…

"I'm gonna work on what they pulled out of Mac." Danny called to the pair. They both nodded slightly, either engrossed in their work or not wanting to think about where the evidence had just come from. He knew he didn't.

Danny was glancing anxiously at the clock when Flack called almost an hour later. "Hey, tell me you got something."

"Something yeah… I went to the girl's apartment. She's not there. I got blood on the door handle. Could be nothing… could be something. I need you to put a trace on her phone. She's not answering. Get me a location."

"You got it. Just give me a second here…" Danny waited as the printer spit out another GCMS report. He grabbed it and headed for the AV lab as he scanned the results. He swore under his breath.

"What is it?" Flack asked.

"Nah, nothing. Just got results on trace from a metal fragment they pulled outta Mac's arm. Looks like it could be Duct tape."

"To attach the canister somewhere?"

"Possibly. Hard to say. Could be nothing…could be something." He mimicked, earning an exasperated sigh from the man on the other end of the phone.

"We're getting nowhere."

"Just give me a minute here." Danny pulled up a chair in the AV lab and typed in Kendall's cell phone number to a locating program. He put his own phone on speaker and set it on the desk. "Alright, the search is running. It's gonna take a few minutes."

"I really wish you guys would get cameras in there." Flack muttered.

Danny smirked, lacing his fingers behind his head as he leaned back. "I was thinkin' the same thing…" He trailed off, something suddenly hitting him. "Maybe we did."

"Huh?"

"I mean we have a witness, Flack. Lindsay said Mac was staring into the room when the thing went off, right? He saw something."

"That's not a huge help here, Danny. We don't know if- _when_ he's going to wake up, or if he'll even remember what he saw, if he saw anything."

Danny sighed, looking across the hall at Mac's empty office as the concern he'd been swallowing briefly surfaced. "Way to look on the bright side, Donny."

"I try."

Danny managed a small smile as he reached under his glasses to rub his eyes. "I still don't understand why someone would choose tonight. Why the trace lab? Why like that? There was no detonator. It doesn't make sense."

"That's the thing I'm afraid of. The only thing that makes even the most remote bit of sense is that Adam was involved."

"But that doesn't make any sense at all!" Danny said, throwing up his arms in frustration. "If this was an accident, Adam would have copped to it by now, and there's no way in hell Adam goes after Mac. Screw objectivity."

"You and I know that, but that's not enough. Think about this as if you didn't know Adam. Take Adam out. What do we have?"

A wry smile made its way to Danny's face. "You know, you don't make a bad Mac." The one thing Danny had clashed with Mac over more than anything else was not assuming anything without evidence. Leave out emotion. Doubtless Mac would have been advising the same thing right now. Danny sighed. Easier said than done. "Alright… Adam is nameless lab tech number 23. What we have is the head of the crime lab nearly killed by an improvised explosive."

"…Exactly." Flack stated, sounding surprised at how simple it was.

"You think he was a target?"

"Think about it. Adam had just left. Maybe we don't know how this thing went off, but we do know that Mac was the only one close enough to be hit."

"Makes sense… Doesn't exactly let Adam off the hook, but it points to a motive. Security is tight enough that they could be limited in their choice of weapon. Acetylene would be a great alternative to a bomb and we do use in the lab sometimes. Never in trace…but could be considered an accident at first glance, limiting investigation or at least giving them time to run... Whoever this is is smart, Flack. He's already had us chasing our tails for hours."

"I'll call for more security on Mac's room."

A blinking icon suddenly popped up on the screen in front of Danny. He sat forward and pressed a few keys. "Hold on, I've got a lock on Kendall's phone… Flack, this says she's at the hospital."

"We didn't see her there…"

"No, we didn't. She wasn't on the list of employees admitted either. I'll call Lindsay."

"I'm on my way."

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><p>Lindsay was exhausted- more emotionally than physically, which was worse in her opinion. She'd been sitting around, doing nothing but worrying for hours. To actually be given a job was a welcome break.<p>

Three more officers had just been stationed on the floor. One at either end and another near the nurses' station. Precautionary, Flack had said. Mac _might_ have been the victim of an assassination attempt. Instead of being reassured by the officers' presence, they actually made her slightly nervous, not for Mac, but for Adam. The second they had appeared, Adam had seemed to collapse in on himself. He could only stare at the floor as sweat started to bead on his forehead, not responding to any of her attempts to figure out why.

Since Danny and Flack had talked to him, he had refused to come back into Mac's room. She told Adam to sit with Mac while she went to check on the lead about Kendall's phone, but when she looked back at him from the elevators, the tech was still sitting in the hallway outside Mac's room. His face was buried in his hands. She was sure his medication would be wearing off right about now and figured that might be part of it, but it certainly didn't explain the fear that crossed his face whenever he looked at Mac. She felt like reassuring him that the unconscious man was quite incapable of biting, but was sure it wouldn't help. Her insistence that this was not Adam's fault hadn't made him feel better at all.

Feeling bad for him, but not knowing what else to do, she went in search of Kendall. The phone's signal had died only a few minutes ago, but its last location had been inside the hospital. The GPS was unable to provide the altitude and the hospital had no record of Kendall being admitted. She decided to start with the ER and work her way up. Danny was providing her with directions as she went.

"Alright. Signal was about 20 feet to your right." Danny was saying. "10… 5. It should be right in front of you now."

Lindsay turned to the curtained off area beside her and awkwardly patted it as she called, "Excuse me?" She poked her head inside and saw two men. One sitting on the bed with a bloody rag covering what must have been quite a gash on his head. The other man turned and looked at her in surprise. "Oh, sorry…" She looked back in confusion for a second. "You two didn't happen to see a phone?"

The man shook his head slowly, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Or a blonde woman?"

He just glared.

"Sorry to bother you." Lindsay ducked back out of the curtain, and backed up a few steps. "Danny, are you sure about the signal? You know that's Kendall's phone?"

"Yes, I checked. It's her. You were right there."

"Well, she wasn't. I have to try another floor… Hold on, Flack's calling." Lindsay switched over to the other line. "Hey, you almost here?"

"Yeah, but I just got a call from the precinct. Kendall just showed up there. She's hysterical, but from what they can tell she's been attacked. Two men. She managed to catch one off guard and get away. I don't think it's a coincidence… Lindsay?"

Lindsay was staring back at the curtain and she suddenly wished she had her gun. "I think I just found your suspects…"

"What?"

She took a few careful steps backwards, keeping her eyes trained on the curtains, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I tracked her phone down. I saw two males, one injured, in the ER. I don't know if they've made me…"

"Lindsay, do not approach. Keep an eye on them. I'll be there in two minutes." She heard the static hiss of his radio as he shouted orders to his officers, calling for immediate backup.

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><p>Adam was too busy contemplating what the quality of his life would be in prison to realize that all but one of the officers had vacated the floor at a run. It took the remaining cop's squawking radio to pull him back to reality. He was a little surprised to see that only the guard at the door hadn't left. Adam had been expecting the cops to converge on him at any second.<p>

Lindsay said the investigation had definitely taken a turn. They were looking at Mac as a target. By all accounts, Adam shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near Mac at this point. It made him feel slightly better to know that his friends had enough faith in his innocence to trust him, but the fact was he was still the best suspect they had. He still could have set the explosion off. He could have been used. He couldn't even vouch for own innocence.

Adam had finally had enough. He looked up at the officer stationed at Mac's door. "Can I…" He tilted his head to the side, in the direction of the hallway.

"Of course." The officer shrugged. He was probably grateful Adam was leaving. He was a security risk after all.

Adam nodded, muttering a small 'thanks' and hobbled down the hallway, suddenly realizing the pain in his back was returning with a vengeance. It might have been clouding his judgment. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, he just knew he couldn't be _there_ anymore. He couldn't face Mac, or the rest of them. He couldn't deal with the possibility that he had done this anymore.

Maybe he'd just walk to the precinct, save them the trip, and hopefully the handcuffs…

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><p>"I was watching it the whole time, Flack." Lindsay insisted, staring at the now empty gurney that their suspect had been occupying no more than 5 minutes ago.<p>

"I believe you, Linds. They must have snuck out the side." Flack sighed.

"You were right, Flack. This isn't a coincidence. One of the men...there was this smell. I couldn't place it then, but I know now. It's the lab, after the explosion, there was this smell. That was it. He had it."

Flack nodded. "Alright, let's get a description out and lock down the hospital." He handed out orders for a canvas and sent the officers on their way, but he grabbed one by the arm as he passed. "I thought you were up on the fourth floor."

"I-I was." The officer, who looked young and probably hadn't seen more than a few years as a cop, was trying his best not to cower under Flack. "You called for immediate backup. I was the closest. Hanson stayed."

Without another word, Flack was sprinting back down the hall. The elevators were packed. He veered left and crashed through the stairwell door. Lindsay was right on his heels, wishing she had a gun again. If she had, maybe she could have held their suspects instead of having to wait for backup. Now they were loose and Mac's protective detail consisted of one cop…and Adam.

The adrenaline was pumping so hard she barely felt out of breath as they burst onto the fourth floor. Flack's hand rested on his gun in its holster as he slightly slowed his pace. They rounded a corner and she let herself breathe a sigh of relief as the guard at the door came into view. She was so grateful that she didn't notice Adam's absence. Flack let his hand drop as he approached the officer.

"Everything okay? You didn't see anyone?"

Hanson shook his head. "No, all clear. It's been quiet."

"Alright, we've got two suspects last seen on the first floor. We need to tighten up security, get two more uniforms up here…"

Lindsay stopped listening as she slipped past Flack and into Mac's room. She thought she had seen- there it was again- a small, almost insignificant movement that caused the sheets on the bed to shift. Lindsay cautiously stepped forward, closely watching Mac's face as she took his hand into hers.

"Mac?" She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, almost holding her breath as she waited. The seconds passed, and she frowned. Maybe it had been nothing… She sat back down, still holding on to Mac as she sighed and stared at the monitors above her. To have his life reduced to numbers and blips on a screen seemed so wrong. Lindsay had realized sometime in between finding Mac on the floor and pacing the waiting room that she would have reacted the same way if it had been her own father in that situation.

She'd been understandably nervous around him when she was hired. Danny hadn't helped at all with his fake advice. Thankfully, Mac knew Danny well enough to catch on once she tried to give him something with blueberries in it, which he was allergic to. That was the first time she'd seen Mac get mad at somebody. She was just grateful it wasn't her. In fact, he had yet to give Lindsay a lecture, even after 2 years of working for him.

She remembered her first few cases she had been partnered with Mac. He had done his best to put her at ease and make sure she knew what she was doing right as well as what she could do better. She'd quickly come to realize how much Mac actually cared for his employees. They were all a family. They were her family in New York. That was just about the only reason she hadn't retreated back to Montana after her first month of "new girl" duties.

She almost laughed when she remembered how nervous her mom had gotten when Lindsay had told her about her colleagues in the crime lab in the foreign and dangerous land of New York. Her mom obviously had her reservations about Danny- so did Lindsay- but she kept warning her daughter about Mac for some reason, be it age or position or whatever. Lindsay had actually laughed when her mom brought it up. _"Mom, all you have to do is look at the pictures on his wall to realize how ridiculous you sound."_

Well, her mom hadn't appreciated that much, but she got the point.

A weak groan cut her off mid-thought. Lindsay sat up straighter, leaning forward in her chair. "Mac?"

His eyelids started to flutter. She gripped his hand tighter as she stood up, looking down at him as he struggled. "Come on, Mac." She whispered.

One eye slid open, green, glazed and unfocused. He shut it briefly before slowly opening it again, this time getting his slightly swollen left eye to cooperate as well.

"Hey." Lindsay smiled, feeling the sting of tears at the corner of her eyes. Mac sluggishly shifted his eyes to her face and after looking confused, he managed a small fleeting smile.

"Wha-." He started to rasp, but the entrance of Flack cut him off.

"So they've got this place on lock down- Mac!" Don grinned, taking a place beside Lindsay. "How you feelin'?"

Mac tried to swallow and grimaced. Lindsay came to the rescue with a few ice chips. "What happened?" He finally managed to whisper in a grating way that made Lindsay wince in sympathy.

"Explosion, Mac. At the lab. You remember anything?"

Mac forehead furrowed slightly as he thought. "Attack?" He finally asked.

"Maybe…" Flack exchanged a look with Lindsay and she nodded. "We thought it might have been targeting you. Now I hate to press you right now, but you were looking right at the thing. I need to know what you saw. Can you remember anything at all?"

Lindsay's heart went out to Mac as he struggled to remember. Frustration and pain lined his face.

"Hey, it's alright. Don't worry about it." Flack shrugged, offering a reassuring smile. "We'll figure this out." He turned to Lindsay. "I'll get the doc." But just as he was about to leave, a hand reached out and weakly grasped at his arm.

Mac's eyes had shed their glazed look, showing hints of the former intensity. "Not me… Adam."

"What?" Flack turned back to him, noting how worried Mac now looked. "What do you mean?"

Mac's grip on Flack's arm tightened. "They're after Adam."

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><p>AN: Boom. As Danny would say. I hope I finally answered some questions, but now you have new ones! What's up with Kendall? Where's Adam? Who on earth would want to hurt that adorable kid? I know I've definitely answered one, the most oft asked question of any I've ever gotten- kind of self explanatory now- Mac is alive, yes. He's gonna come back and play in another chapter or so. Please review! It's so helpful and I love hearing from you.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry this one took a while. I got really sidetracked with this little project I've nicknamed "What were you smoking when you thought this was a good idea?" I'll give you a link to it at the end. Anyways, thank you so much as always for the reviews, and enjoy!

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><p>"Hanson!" Flack whirled around as the officer at the door poked his head inside. "Where did Adam go? The guy who was sitting here."<p>

"He left about five minutes ago. Didn't say where. Kid didn't look good though."

"He talk on his phone at all, speak to anybody?" Flack pressed.

Hanson shook his head. "I don't think so."

Flack whipped out his radio as he strode out into the hallway. "I need a location on Adam Ross. Last seen fourth floor. Approximately 5' 8", brown hair, light beard, jeans and a blue crime scene jacket. I need him in protective custody now." Don raked his fingers through his hair as he scanned the nearly empty hallways. Coming up with nothing, he pocketed the radio and went back inside the room.

Mac was watching him. He looked exhausted. It seemed he was struggling to keep his eyelids from sliding shut. His left eye was nothing but a narrow slit that refused to open any more than it already was.

Don let out a long sigh as tore his eyes away. "Mac, we got this. We'll find Adam. Get some rest."

"Don…" Mac rasped, wincing as he tried to move.

"I mean it. Lindsay saw these guys. She can ID them."

Lindsay nodded quickly from Mac's bedside, still absently gripping the man's arm, now to keep him down more than anything.

"Our focus right now is finding Adam, and we will. Whatever else you have can wait …Unless you have anything that can help us find out who these guys are or where they might be." Don added reluctantly. He didn't want to give Mac any more reason to hurt himself. He could see the frustration in Mac's eyes again, wanting so badly to help, but being helpless himself.

"Can't remember…" He muttered, looking utterly disappointed in himself.

Don shook his head. It figured that Mac would be awake for three minutes and already have the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. You just rest."

Mac seemed to have finally lost the battle for consciousness as his eyes slid shut, but then he managed to mumble. "Look at the techs..."

Don waited for more, but the now even breathing told him Mac was out, and good thing too. Three _more_ minutes and Mac would have been donning his holster and Kevlar. Don watched the unconscious man for another minute just to be sure he was truly sleeping. He placed his hand on Lindsay's shoulder. "Let's go. I need you on this." Lindsay hesitated for a moment before following him. "He's gonna be fine now." Flack said, not just for her benefit. He stopped just outside the door again and waved Hanson over. "No one gets in this room without hospital ID or a pass from me. He's still a material witness… and call me if he wakes up again…Don't let _him_ out either."

* * *

><p>Stella had finally caught her break. She had hard, physical proof that someone else had been in trace when the explosive went off. A stock cabinet had been blasted off its base and was leaning precariously against the back wall. Hidden on the side facing the wall was a blood smear. Someone's cover from the explosion hadn't been as safe as they had hoped, toppling on top of them instead.<p>

Now she just needed something to compare it to… CODIS would take time to come up with a match- if there was one. She highly doubted it. This screamed inside job.

As she sat in front of the computer to wait, her phone rang. She feared every new call would be the chief pulling them off the case. They had an excuse at first. Accidents could be investigated by their own department. It was when they suspected foul play that they should have dropped it and ran. Stella could distance herself to a point. She hadn't been there when it happened. She wasn't sure it was much of an excuse, but her best friend was lying in the ICU receiving blood transfusions because he had left half of his own on the floor across the hallway. There was no way she was backing down now. She wondered if Mac would have approved of them working it… They could battle it out later.

"Bonasera." She answered finally.

"Stell, it's Flack."

"You find our suspects?" She asked.

"No, but we definitely got a new development here. Adam was the target, not Mac."

"What?" That couldn't be right… Who would want to hurt Adam? Granted the kid could sometimes be obnoxious, but nothing that warranted murder. "How do you know that?"

"Mac told me." Flack hurried on, sensing she was about to launch into a series of predictable questions. "He was awake, but he's out right now. I don't know how he knows, I don't even think he knows how he knows, I just know he does. Doesn't make much difference at this point. Here's our problem. Adam's gone. We can't find him. He's not in the hospital. Has he called you?"

"Uh…" Stella took a moment for the information to sink in. "No, no, he hasn't."

"We got everybody out looking for him. He can't have gotten far. You got anything over there?"

"Danny is processing Kendall at another hospital right now and Sheldon is looking over the security logs. Nothing has stuck out so far. I found some blood in trace. Could be from a perp. CODIS is running now."

"Mac said something about looking at the lab techs. Adam said there were two in room when he came in, but not when he left."

Stella nodded, her inside job theory suddenly looking very plausible. "Whoever did this would need the clearance to get to this floor. It makes sense that it could be one of them. I'll get Sheldon to focus his search."

"I'm sending over the hospital's security footage with Lindsay right now. Hopefully you can get something off that, but she's your best shot at an ID. She was looking right at 'em."

"Alright, good. I think we can finally start getting somewhere…" There was silence for a few seconds on the line before she spoke again. "Why Adam?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing. It made more sense when it was Mac."

"Why would Adam run off? Did he know?"

"No, I don't think so, but he's been blaming himself for this all night. I don't think they've gotten to him, but he's vulnerable. I'll let you know as soon as we have something."

"Likewise…Wait, Don-?"

"Mac's gonna be fine, Stell." He answered without being asked.

Stella allowed a smile to cross her tired face. "Thanks."

Predictably, CODIS had come up with nothing. However, Lindsay had brought more than security footage with her, and they were now running the blood found in trace against the blood found on the gurney where the suspects had been. While they waited, they sifted through the endless hours of footage. They spotted their guys coming into the hospital just after Kendall showed up at the police station, but there was no sign of them leaving. Of course the hospital wasn't equipped with cameras in the back hallways or exits.

"I don't get it." Lindsay sighed in frustration as she sat back with a soft thud. "Why? Just…why?"

Stella propped her chin on her fist and gave Lindsay small, tired smile. "Sometimes bad things happen to good people, and you don't get to know why."

Lindsay smirked, looking down at her hands. "So I'm not the only one he gives that speech to?"

Stella scoffed. "Are you kidding? He invented it for me."

"Stella!" Sheldon burst into the room, waving a flash drive like a trophy. "Your tip did the trick." He explained as he plugged it in and pulled up a grainy security feed. "Alright, this was earlier tonight. Night shift started at 4. Now look here."

"That's Kendall." Stella said slowly.

"And getting into the elevator with her..."

"That's them!" Lindsay said, stabbing her finger at the screen.

"I ran their faces and they don't work in the building, let alone in this lab. They were posing at lab techs to blend in."

Stella was staring hard at the image, a mix of emotions fighting for dominance inside her, until she finally managed to speak in a carefully controlled tone, "And Kendall gave them access."

"I'll update Danny." Sheldon said, whipping out his cell as walked into the hallway.

"Why would she do something like that?" Stella muttered as she studied the screen, searching for a gun or some other hint that she was an unwilling participant.

"Maybe she didn't have a choice." Lindsay said. "She was attacked an hour ago, maybe to make sure she wouldn't say anything?"

Stella shrugged hopelessly. "Maybe. Our suspects are obviously in possession of her phone. Seems an odd thing to steal unless they had it before the attack. In which case, maybe they used it to lure Adam into trace, or out of the hospital."

Lindsay suddenly sat up and dug into her pocket, pulling out a cell phone. "I forgot, I had found this outside Mac's room. It's Adam's. Looked like it fell out of his pocket where he was sitting. I already looked through it. Kendall told him to meet her in trace, or at least someone did on her phone. That was the last text. No calls since then either."

"And no way to trace him, since he left it." Stella sighed.

Sheldon re-entered the room, snapping his phone shut. "Danny said he hasn't been able to get two words out of Kendall. She wouldn't talk to him, the forensic nurse or a female police officer. They're holding her and have officers stationed outside her room. She's being treated for shock and some other minor injuries. Danny is coming back with the evidence now."

Lindsay hesitated for a moment, "Of course there is the possibility that this is all an act. She could be working with these guys. She knows the consequences for letting someone unauthorized into the lab. Why risk it unless she was in on it?"

"Then why not use the phone herself?" Stella quickly shook her head, stopping herself. "Speculating won't get us anywhere. We need evidence. Sheldon, get back to her apartment and start processing. Flack said he saw blood. Maybe that's where she was attacked." Sheldon immediately turned and went right back out. "We should really start looking into Adam as well. See if there's anything that would hint at where he might be, or at least why someone wants him dead."

"Flack already has Angell looking into him. He was a suspect before a victim. She hadn't found anything as of half an hour ago…" Lindsay shifted uncomfortably. "Stella, I should have seen this coming. He kept trying to tell me how responsible he felt for what happened, saying it was his fault, and I just didn't listen."

Guilt suddenly seized Stella as well. Shouldn't she have known if something were wrong with Adam? He had seemed upset earlier, but she was so concerned about Mac, she hadn't even thought about it. She figured he was worried like everyone else. Maybe if she had just taken notice, paid attention, she would have seen it, and stopped him from leaving. "We're all a little responsible on that front, but it doesn't matter anymore. We just need to find him."

"DNA at the hospital is a match to the DNA in trace." Lindsay reported listlessly, spotting the blinking green icon on the computer over Stella's shoulder.

Stella sighed. More useless evidence. Great for when they were at trial, prosecuting the guys, but as far as finding Adam and protecting him- worthless. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Get images of our suspects off the security feed, send them out as many places as you can. Actually, send out Adam's picture too. Then grab your jacket. If he doesn't want to come to us, we're going to have to go and find him ourselves."

* * *

><p>Adam had been trudging aimlessly through the streets for almost an hour now. His mind had been blissfully blank for most of it, numb like his back had been, and like Adam wished it still was.<p>

It was a good thing his mindless wanderings had led him within a few blocks of his apartment. He could do with a shirt and a proper jacket. The fall night wasn't too cold, even by the Phoenix native's standards, but between the thin hospital gown posing as a shirt and his non-insulated windbreaker, goose-bumps had blossomed across his skin. A sudden chill caused his tender back to seize up and he had to grasp a light post for support until the pain passed.

He gingerly straightened up and carefully started walking again, quite certain if a cop spotted him they would be convinced he was either high or drunk with the way he was stumbling along. As he neared his apartment complex, it suddenly hit him. What was he doing? Sure, grab a change of clothes to make himself feel better, but then what? Sit at home and wait? Wait for what? A warrant for his arrest? If he had a choice, he would help find the guys that had almost killed his boss, but that was out of the question. For all the cops knew, he had been helping them.

Adam rounded a corner and his complex came into view. Parked across the street was a police cruiser. _They're staking out my apartment_. Adam realized with a jolt. After another minute of internal debate, Adam started moving again, walking straight for the cruiser. _Maybe if I'm cooperative enough to climb right into the back seat, they'll let me grab a shirt before they book me._

It was nearly 2am, and the last of the late night crowds were still stumbling their way home along the sidewalks. Someone passing by slammed into Adam's shoulder, causing Adam to hiss in pain as his back flared up again. Before he could look around for the perpetrator to congratulate him on his walking abilities, Adam felt something hard press into the small of his back, right along the edge of a particularly deep laceration. He tried to arch his back away from it, but a sudden jab from the object nearly sent him to the sidewalk in agonizing pain. A powerful hand grasping at his bicep was all that kept him standing.

He felt someone lean close to his ear. "I'd stop moving, Adam. You'll draw the attention of that lovely cop over there, and I'd hate to be responsible for hospitalizing two of New York's finest tonight. How is Taylor, by the way?"

Adam tried to whirl around, "You son of a-."

The man's painful grip tightened around his arm, and the object was shoved against his ribs. "I'm gonna need you to cooperate here, Adam. I don't want to shoot you, but my friend still has your boss in his sights, and if he hears you're giving me trouble, he might just have to complicate Taylor's recovery. Now… are you gonna come with me quietly or do I need to make a phone call?"

Adam slowly shook his head.

"Good." The gun was poking into his side again. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>AN: The chapter didn't want to be written. I swear, it doesn't like me. I'm not too fond of it either. But yes, review anyways.

So that project thing, yeah... I'm an avid procrastinator, so much so, that I procrastinate procrastinating and start something new so I can procrastinate on that. Anyways, I was looking at youtube videos and saw some people made little trailers for their fics, and I like making videos, so I gave it a shot. Link's in my profile at the bottom of the page.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Once again, so grateful to my reviewers! Love your comments and suggestions. I had too much fun writing this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Adam's mind was racing. He still hadn't gotten a good look at the man currently shoving a gun between his ribs, but something about his voice was strangely familiar. He hoped figuring out who it was might give him a hint at what was going on. One second he was freaking out over being arrested and the next, he was being held at gunpoint, wishing more than anything that he <em>had<em> been arrested. Why did this guy want him? And what did he mean his friend had Mac in his sights? Mac was under police protection last time Adam checked.

"What do you want from me, man?" Adam's voice trembled with fear and pain despite his best efforts to keep it steady.

"I want you to shut up and keep walking." The man hissed, digging the barrel a little deeper into Adam's side, urging him along the scarcely populated sidewalk. They had barely made it a block from Adam's apartment complex where he'd been grabbed, which meant they were only a short distance away from the cop parked there as well.

"Where are we going?"

"Shut up!" He jerked Adam's arm held tightly in his fist.

"Okay, okay." Adam held up his hands in surrender.

"Put your hands down." That's when Adam heard the first hints of uncertainty in the man's tone.

Adam complied, but his body had finally gotten over the shock of being kidnapped. That, along with his captor's unease, gave Adam the confidence to start thinking of a plan. He was still hesitant to try anything. The man did have a gun and Adam had no way of knowing how safe Mac really was. He'd never forgive himself if he got Mac killed. He'd already had a taste of what that felt like, and didn't wish to repeat it. After another 30 seconds of walking, Adam finally settled on a compromise.

His captor was slowing, and Adam could hear the jingle of keys being pulled from a pocket. The headlights of a van parked 20 feet in front of them flashed. He had to act now.

A couple who seemed to be in their early thirties was walking toward Adam. They had clearly had a few drinks that night, as the pretty brunette woman was leaning heavily on the man seemingly for support instead of anything romantic in nature. The man- tall, obviously well-built to the point of being ridiculous, and clean cut- was apparently more adept at holding his liquor and only a slightly glazed look in his eyes hinted that he'd had anything to drink at all. Adam just hoped it had been enough.

As the couple and the now unlocked van grew closer, Adam made his move. He made an effort to catch the woman's eye and then winked, flashing the creepiest smile he could conjure up- a move hardly worthy of James Bond, but effective nonetheless. The meaty boyfriend had noticed as well, and luckily his business-like appearance hid quite a temper.

"Hey!" Muscles-as Adam called him in his head-placed the tipsy woman behind him as the veins on his neck bulged. "Who ya lookin' at, huh?" The man's accent was reminiscent of Danny's, if Danny had dropped his voice 8 octaves.

Adam's captor was at a loss, not having seen what the tech had done. "No one." He answered quickly.

"I wasn't talkin' ta you!" Muscles stepped up to Adam, a giant fist closing around the front of his windbreaker. "You hittin' on my girl, pal?"

It took every ounce of courage Adam possessed not to immediately shake his head and beg for forgiveness. Instead, he cocked his head to the side and gave a slight suggestive raise of his eyebrows. Muscles didn't appreciate that. Another thick vein had made an appearance in his forehead. Adam could almost see it throbbing. The man brought back his fist, ready to pummel Adam into oblivion.

A few equally drunken passersby had slowed or stopped to watch the confrontation. This was exactly what Adam had wanted. The cop was just around the corner. All he needed was one person to find him and report the fight…

"Hey!" It was the captor this time. From Muscles reaction, Adam knew the gun was now pointed at the boyfriend. "Let him go, or I'll shoot you." Adam swallowed. Apparently the man was more desperate than Adam had assumed.

Muscles stared in disbelief for a few seconds before his grip loosened. "Whoa, man. Put that away."

"Back off!" The captor cried, stepping forward to give Adam a shove toward the van. "_You_ get in the car." Adam didn't move. "The car!" The gun was pointed at Adam now. "Get in the back, _now_!" The gun swung back around to aim at the boyfriend, then the few onlookers who had stopped. "All of you, back off!" He grabbed the back of Adam's jacket and pushed him along toward the van as he kept the weapon trained on the small crowd.

Adam's captor pulled open the back door and shoved Adam inside, crawling in right after him. Adam heard the door slam closed, and then saw the butt of the gun flying toward his face. Then there was nothing.

* * *

><p>Don Flack was cursing himself. They had been so close... Just ten minutes ago, Adam had been standing exactly where he was. A man who looked eerily similar to Jon Cena had freely admitted that he'd been about to pound Adam into the ground when another man had pulled a gun on him. It didn't sound like he was protecting him out of kindness either. It was more like one lion fighting off another to guard his kill.<p>

"Did you get a license plate?" Don asked the man, whose name was not "The Rock", but Jerry French- much less intimidating than his appearance, and apparently more indicative of nature when he was sober.

Jerry sheepishly rolled his giant shoulders. "I didn't have my glasses on me, and frankly the alcohol aint helpin' either."

His tiny girlfriend was even less help. She couldn't even spell her own name right. Luckily the on lookers had clearer heads.

"Flack!" Danny hurried toward him, holding his badge in his hand as he passed by several officers. "What's going on? I heard you found Adam."

Don shook his head. "Not quite. From what we can piece together, Mr. French, CPA, over there was about to teach a guy a lesson for hitting on his girlfriend when all of a sudden, another guy pulls a gun on him and then forces the first guy into a van before driving off."

"How do we know this is Adam?" Danny asked.

"Witnesses saw his jacket. Has your logo across the back. An officer around the corner was first on the scene, recognized the description and immediately called me. So far we've got a description of the van; white, Ford, older model club wagon, tinted windows. We've also got a partial plate. Hawkes is looking a traffic cams already."

"I thought he was on Kendall's apartment?"

"Didn't find anything except the blood I saw. Sample's running now."

"Description of the perp?"

Don sighed, flipping open his memo book though he had the information memorized. "Not much. Approximately 5'8", thin, medium length brown hair."

"So just the one guy? Not two?"

Don nodded. "This guy matches Lindsay's description of one of them. That leaves the guy with the head wound unaccounted for."

"Maybe it was bad enough to leave him behind." Danny suggested.

"Maybe. Just in case, I've sent out descriptions to other hospitals and clinics in the area... So you got nothing out of Kendall?"

Danny frowned. "Well, trace I got off her didn't yield much- possibly soil samples consistent with locations around JFK. She, on the other hand, won't say a word. She's in shock, they tell me."

"You believe her?"

"Pretty convincing if she's not." Danny shrugged, then let out a long breath as he looked around. "What are these guys doing, Don?"

"If they took him, it's to finish the job. We don't have a lot of time."

Danny immediately started paced the area, his flashlight searching out every corner and crevice. After a few minutes, he flicked off his flashlight and almost threw it against a nearby car before settling with kicking an empty plastic bag blowing by. "I'm not getting anything, Flack. No trace, tire treads, fibers..."

Don could tell his friend was frustrated, on the verge of frantic. "Take a breath, Danny. There's always something."

Danny suddenly straightened up and turned on him. "You want to shut up, _Mac_? I'm tryin' here."

Don just stared silently back for a few seconds. His first instinct was to lash back, but he knew his friend and exactly what he was going through. In a calm, but firm voice, he replied, "Look, you can do this, Danny. You know you can. This isn't anything new. Now, just take a step back and start over, okay?"

Danny's eyes softened. A cold, stiff breeze rustled his hair as he looked down at the ground. When he looked up again, Don could see a glint in his eyes. Danny clicked his flashlight back on and walked past his original search area. When he came back, he was holding the plastic bag he had kicked which was now filled with what looked like garbage.

"Hold this." Danny handed his flashlight over and started sifting through the mess. "It's possible when opening the door that some trash blew out. It's a long shot, but-." Danny stopped. A grin grew on his face. "You see this?"

Don studied the receipt in Danny's hand for a minute. It was from a store with a Queens address, quite close to JFK. Don allowed himself to smile as he read the list of one item. "Duct tape. Just duct tape."

"And he bought it with a credit card. Man, I'm good!" Danny cried triumphantly as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "Please let this store be open 24 hours…"

* * *

><p>The minor headache Adam had been sporting since the explosion had been upgraded to nearly unbearable. Something wet and sticky was coating the side of his face and had practically glued his right eye shut. His back was on fire, and he was sure some of the stitches had ripped out of the tender flesh, catching on the hospital gown under his jacket. His arms were bound behind his back, their position adding further irritation to the lump of mutilated flesh.<p>

He opened his left eye and gathered that he was no longer in the van, but some sort of storage warehouse. Shelves full of large bags, pots, and various other objects he couldn't make out stretched out in front of him. Adam was separated from them by a chain link fence which seemed to enclose a sort of office space. There was a desk and a computer sitting by the back wall, but not much else.

Adam tried to find some identifying piece of information that would tell him where he was, but was coming up empty. The smell was something like a nursery or greenhouse, but he couldn't be sure. You didn't get smells like that in the city much.

He was snapped from his thoughts as a door just beside the office opened. Adam could feel the cool night rushing through it. "Adam!" Came a voice from the entering silhouette. "Finally. I was afraid getting hit in the head so soon after that mishap at your lab might have screwed you up permanently."

Adam blinked, trying to pry open his right eye as well, but it remained sealed. The light was too poor to make out any features of the man in front of him, but he could tell from the voice that it was the same man who had held the gun on him earlier, and he was feeling much more confident now that they were off the open street and out of sight.

The man crouched down on the opposite side of the fencing, lacing his fingers through the metal as he looked at Adam, his head cocked to the side. "You know, I guess it's a good thing the blast didn't kill you. I thought it would be satisfying enough just to make it look like you accidentally got yourself killed out of stupidity, but this actually worked out better. Now you'll know why this happening, and hopefully I'll get you to feel just a little bit of what I did."

"Who are you?" Adam asked, unable to hide the quiver from his voice. "What do you think I did?"

"I _know_ what you did." The man snapped, jumping to his feet as he paced over Adam. "As for who I am? I guess I'm a little insulted you don't remember, but it was a few years ago. Don't worry…you'll know everything soon enough." The man pulled out his cell phone and stopped to looked down at his captive. His eyes glinted in the faint light. "First, I have to make a phone call. You nearly got us killed out there. A valiant effort, I must say, but selfish, and so stupid. See, Adam, your actions have consequences. You need to realize this. You play with people's lives, and clearly seeing them through computer screens has made you forget that they're also human. Well, I'm about to remind you with something a little closer to home."

Adam's heart plummeted through his chest and landed somewhere near his stomach. _Not Mac, please, not Mac._

The man started dialing a number. "I warned you about my friend, remember? Itchy trigger finger. Vindictive. He's tired of working through computer screens too. Wants to try some hands on work." The man paused, and hit the call button before lifting the phone to his ear. The light from the keys cast sharp relief over his features as he grinned. "Say goodbye to your friend, Adam."

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><p>AN: Sorry about that, but cliffhangers and I just go together usually. Reviews are much appreciated as always and make me oh so happy, and actually make the story better because I do listen to suggestions. Thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N:Sorry this took me so long! I had it done this morning, but then this site flat out refused to let me log in. Anyone else have that problem? Anyways, thanks so very much to everyone who reviewed. You're such faithful reviewers, it's awesome. You're great. Thanks for the alerts and favs as well!

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><p>"Scott Wright. 28 years old, 6 foot, 180 lbs, blonde hair, brown eyes."<p>

"That's not the guy who has Adam, Stell." Flack sighed.

"This sounds like our suspect with the head wound." Stella agreed, frowning.

"And we don't even know if he's in the game anymore."

Stella could hear the frustration in Don's voice. She was feeling it herself. If these guys were really out to kill Adam, they didn't have time for dead ends. "Hold on, Don. This guy has priors for identity theft and fraud. Only one conviction. Served community service. Search his address. See what you can find. They could be there." Stella chose not to comment on the irony of someone convicted of identity theft being identified for using his own credit card for once. She was surprised Don didn't.

"If he has priors and he's the guy we got blood from why didn't he show up in CODIS earlier?" Don snapped. The background noise was cut out suddenly. He'd probably climbed back into his car.

"Identity theft isn't a qualifying offense." Stella explained with a sigh. After all, who would have expected a cyber-criminal to escalate to murder? "We'll search for Wright's accomplices or connections to Adam and see if we can find our second guy."

"Hawkes get anything?" Don asked impatiently, not the least bit encouraged.

Stella bit her lip and looked behind her at Sheldon who was busy sifting through every traffic cam he could reasonably fit onto one screen. "Not yet."

There was silence for a few seconds, and when Don came back on the line, his tone had leveled out. "Alright, we'll head to the address. Let me know the second you find out anything else."

"Will do." Stella hung up and dropped her face into her hand. She should have seen this coming… The guilt continued to whittle away at her as every second Adam remained missing passed by.

"You alright?" Came Sheldon's always calm voice from behind her.

She lifted her head and spun around in her chair, nodding. "Flack is checking out Wright's address. You stay on the cameras. I'm going to get Lindsay and look into Wright and see what else I can find that connects him to Adam."

"Maybe they're taking him back to Wright's apartment?" Sheldon suggested hopefully.

"Maybe." If they were wrong, that was just more precious time off the clock.

* * *

><p>Adam's captor had disappeared again, leaving him alone, but not before making the call that Adam would remember for the rest of his life. His eyes still stung and his throat burned from crying out for the man to stop. His captor had a sick look of satisfaction on his face as he watched Adam struggle, begging for him to spare his boss's life. Adam couldn't hear the conversation over his own shouts, but he had heard the final words the man spoke.<p>

_"Call me when it's done."_

_It_- a deceptively insignificant word which held enough weight to crush Adam's chest and leave him struggling for breath. Behind that word was a man's life, and Adam's all-consuming guilt. He had done it _again_. In a selfish act to save his own life, Adam had condemned Mac to death. Clearly Adam's very existence was a threat to his boss. The fates were aligning every which way to make him responsible for the man's demise after all.

Maybe there was still time… if he could somehow warn somebody, maybe they could get to Mac before anything happened. But how? Adam's eyes landed on the phone sitting next to the computer… It was always the simple things criminals forgot. In a world where land lines were becoming obsolete and cell phones ruled, his captor had made a mistake. With a quick look at the door, Adam struggled to roll onto his knees. His back stretched and he could feel the fragile fibers holding him together slowly and agonizingly tearing through his flesh. He screwed his eyes shut, he didn't have time to be in pain- Mac didn't have time.

* * *

><p>Scott Wright smoothed his bangs over the gash on his forehead as a security guard strolled past him in the opposite direction. It was amazing what a pair of scrubs and a vaguely similar looking male nurse's ID badge could get him through. Even the heavily guarded fourth floor had let him through with only a passing glance to make sure he merely possessed the required laminated card.<p>

* * *

><p>Adam staggered to his feet and stumbled into the chain link fencing with a shuttering crash. Biting back a cry of pain and blinking the stars from his vision, he looked toward the door. No one appeared. Thanking heaven for one thing going his way, he set his sights on the phone in the corner and stumbled toward it.<p>

* * *

><p>Scott steadied his shaking hands as he made his way along the corridor. He nodded politely at passing nurses and doctors, hoping it would help him blend in. He only had one more barrier to pass. The hallway opened up before him and he grinned. Not even the guards were in sight. This might be easier than he had hoped.<p>

* * *

><p>Adam could feel the rivulets of blood streaming down his back as he reached the desk. Ignoring the searing pain, he twisted his bound hands from behind his back and knocked the phone off its cradle. With fumbling fingers, he felt along the keypad and dialed. He fell to his knees, pressing his ear to the phone's receiver and waited.<p>

* * *

><p>The room numbers quickly passed by him until he found the correct one. Scott stopped outside the door and checked his pockets. He slipped his hand around the object inside and gripped it hard, drawing strength from it, for what he was about to do. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the room.<p>

* * *

><p>Silence. No dial tone. No dispatch. No operator. Nothing.<p>

Adam fought to gain his feet again, to hang up and try again, when he realized with a start what was missing.

"You really thought I was that stupid, didn't you?"

Adam spun around, his breath catching, his heart stopping in his chest.

His captor sauntered over, looking smug as he hung up the phone and picked up the entire unit, making the missing cords obvious. "Nice try."

* * *

><p>Scott hurried down the hallway. Alarms blared behind him. Nurses rushed past him. Guards scrambled, but they were too late. He disappeared around the corner, unseen.<p>

* * *

><p>Adam couldn't breathe. Hopelessness consumed him again. He didn't even offer resistance as the man over him shoved him back to the ground.<p>

"You really think I'm that stupid?" He repeated, his voice rising in volume. "Of course you do. Everyone does. Well I was smart enough to get into your precious lab! Smart enough to rig up an explosive, unseen. I admit I missed taking you out. Of course getting Taylor was a happy accident, so I'm not too upset. I'm smart enough to have someone on the inside, who is at this moment finishing the job I was smart enough to start! Smart enough to get _you_ out from the noses of the very cops you hide behind." He ended in a whisper, his voice dripping with venom. "Smart enough to get a hold of your little girlfriend too."

"K-Kendall? What did you do to her?" Adam cried. _Please no, not another life on my hands. Please!_

The man didn't answer, but Adam flinched as he stepped forward. The man grinned at seeing the power he had over his captive, and Adam cursed his helplessness.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Not so tough without your friggin' computers now, huh? You are so out of touch you don't even know who I am!" He got down on one knee, leering over Adam.

Adam couldn't help but wince. The face was familiar, he knew it. But his brain had been in survival mode and identifying this man wasn't high on his priorities. He was preoccupied with finding a way out, and with what was happening to Mac, and now what on earth this guy had done to Kendall.

"I'll give you a hint. If you hadn't screwed up my life, we might have been colleagues, working the same job. If you hadn't stuck your nose where it didn't belong, _she_ would be alive. But you did, and now she's dead."

"Not Kendall…" Adam whispered in horror.

"No, not _Kendall_." The man spat. "Not everything is about you."

Adam continued to stare, racking his brain for anything. A girl dead? Because of him? Adam would know… he would remember something like that. There's no way he could do anything like that. He felt guilty for setting out mouse traps in his apartment for crying out loud! He looked up at the man again. Colleagues? Same job? … "Carson…"

The man grinned, getting to his feet as he started clapping. "Oh, give him a prize. You did actually look away from the screen enough to see people. I see you did very well for yourself after school, huh? Left me behind and didn't even think twice about the life you ruined… You don't even remember why, do you?" Carson scoffed.

Adam stared up, his mouth suddenly refusing to work. They'd gone to school together… Enrolled in the same grad program. He hadn't known him well. Carson had kept to himself. They never hung out. Never interacted, even in class. Then he had suddenly stopped coming. Carson disappeared, and Adam hadn't thought twice about it. Then it clicked… "Oh, come on, Carson." Adam pleaded. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry."

Carson rolled his eyes, pacing back and forth in front of him. "No you're not. Not yet."

Adam stumbled over his words, trying to find something to say. His voice had taken on a high-pitched quality, betraying the growing anger now expanding in his chest. "You- you're doing this because I got you kicked out of school? Carson, I didn't even know that was you! I reported what I saw, that's it!"

"That's NOT it!" He roared. "You have no idea what you did!"

The anger continued swelling inside Adam. It was something he'd never felt before in a life lived in half-terror. Carson had tried to kill him, Mac, possibly Kendall? All because Carson himself had cheated in school years ago? That was his justification for ruining Adam's life? "Then why this? Why Mac? Why Kendall?"

"Because you took _her_ from me…"

The fragile balloon that contained Adam's fury exploded as he launched himself at the man who hurt his friends.

* * *

><p>Don Flack kicked in the door of Wright's third floor flat. Officers rushed in around him, searching. Echoes of "Clear!" reverberated around the spacious apartment.<p>

He knew he hadn't really expected to find Adam here, but that didn't stop his heart plummeting into his stomach. More time lost. Danny holstered his weapon, his disappointment written on his face. "Hold on, look at this." He stepped forward, and Don's pulse quickened for a brief moment.

Laid out on the kitchen table were wires, plans, dissected canisters… Danny held up one of the papers. Adam's picture was printed in the top corner. Below it was a complete profile on the tech. "This is where they planned it, alright." He muttered. Danny continued sifting through the rest of the papers, looking for anything that jumped out at him- a new name, a place, number, address, anything…

Don continued making his way through the apartment. It was pretty nice by city standards, paid for- Don assumed- by the unsuspecting victims of identity theft. The floor plan was open, with a spacious living room and the bedrooms set off to the side. Don found it interesting that the two bedrooms looked lived in. Both had beds, clothes, a desk… Scott Wright was the only one listed on the lease.

Judging by a single picture in what he then assumed was Wright's room, Don went to the mystery roommate's room. This one was significantly less personalized with a single picture of a female in her late teens/early twenties hidden in a desk drawer. The clothes he could see were distinctly male, so Don knew it wasn't of the occupant. Lying in front of the closet was a tan, crumpled jumpsuit, emblazoned with the logo for a landscaping company. They were streaked with dirt, and a pair of work gloves rested on top of mud encrusted work boots nearby. There were no posters, memorabilia or anything else to decorate the space, except for a single plaque. It identified one Robert J. Carson as a graduate in computer science from NYU.

What was a computer nerd doing with a landscapers uniform?

Don spun around and went for the door. "Danny! You need to see this… Danny?" His friend was standing stock still in the middle of the living room, a phone hanging limply in his hand. His heart immediately started pounding in his chest as he stepped closer. "Danny, what is it?" He demanded.

Danny swallowed and looked down at his cell before slowly looking up at Don again. "That was Stella…It's about Mac, Don."

* * *

><p>AN: Yeah, same kind of cliff as last time. Lame, I know. I couldn't find a good place to end this and wanted to get something up for you! As always, please please please review! It's so helpful to me and I love hearing from you guys.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Why yes, I AM updating this fast. Mostly because I SHOULD be studying for a test and needed to procrastinate. Thanks so much for the reviews and alerts. So...this is just falling apart. Totally screwed up the order of this story. I don't know. Here it is.

* * *

><p>"Alright, Flack, I got it." Lindsay reported. "Robert J. Carson. Judging by his driver's license picture, this is definitely our guy. Graduated same year as Adam, joined the same graduate program. Expelled for misuse of equipment. I don't have details on that. He has a few priors..."<p>

"Where does he work?"

"Uh...says here that he works for his father at Carson's Landscapers."

"Did you say landscaping?" Sheldon asked excitedly, abandoning his bank of computers to join her.

"Why, you get something?"

Sheldon reached over her shoulder and brought up a grainy traffic cam picture of a white van. "Letters are faded and peeling, but I'm putting money on this word being landscape."

"You get that, Flack?" Lindsay asked, her heart now pounding in her chest. Finally, a real lead.

"Yeah, I got it. If he's using the van, maybe he's using the business to keep Adam in. Get me an address."

Lindsay hung up a few minutes later, having given Flack all the information she could. It was up to them now in a very complete and final way. She was positive they were about to be pulled off this case and then she would be completely helpless.

Shouts reached her ears, the glass walls not enough to mute the sounds of Stella and the Chief of Detectives arguing with each other in the hallway. Usually it was Mac in that position, and raised voices were inevitable. When it was Stella, the conversation never really escalated to shouting. Sinclair actually liked Stella and was polite enough to listen to her arguments without getting defensive most of the time, probably because he only dealt with Stella in the very infrequent event of Mac being out of the office. Usually these arguments made Lindsay's stomach twist uncomfortably. One day, Mac- or Stella- would overstep their bounds and Sinclair wouldn't put up with it anymore.

At that moment, however, she almost felt sorry for the Chief. The facts of the argument may have been on his side, but hell hath no fury like Stella Bonasera, especially when her friends' lives were on the line. After the call from the hospital, Lindsay would probably have to say that it was a miracle Sinclair still had his head attached to his shoulders. She had been afraid that Stella was about to lose it completely after that call. That's when the elevator doors had slid open to reveal a very pissed off Chief of Detectives. Calling Stella back had been useless. She had marched right up to him and set Sinclair back on his heals with her rapid fire retort.

Sinclair was still fuming, but either Stella's chastening had actually worked or he was just as tired as the rest of them and wasn't up to arguing with the feisty Greek woman.

Lindsay and Sheldon shared a look.

"Who do you think is winning?" Lindsay asked, only half-joking.

Sheldon blew out a breath and set his hands on his hips. "Don't think it matters much right now. This thing is ending soon, one way or another. It's out of our hands either way."

Lindsay threw up a silent prayer that Adam would be okay.

* * *

><p>Flack and Danny were back in the car, sirens blaring as they raced through the city streets. Carson's Landscapers was a good 20 minutes away, and Don intended to cut the travel time in half. Adam had been kidnapped almost an hour ago. If he had any time left at all, it wasn't much.<p>

"So this guy went to school with him?" Danny was asking, the silence too much for him to take.

"Yeah, I guess. Got kicked out. Don't know why exactly."

"Still no idea what he wants with Adam?"

"Not a clue… Got a connection between him and Wright though. Brothers-in-law. Carson married Wright's sister when he was still in college."

"Where's the wife?" Danny asked.

"Dead. Cancer, about a year after he got expelled. He's got priors as well. Seems he and Wright were running their own scams together. He's got a few charges for assault. Typical bar fights. Nothing like this."

"You think he's dead, Flack?" Danny's voice was smaller than Flack had ever heard it.

Flack glanced over at him. He'd been asking himself the same question. He was just too afraid to answer. "Carson could have shot him on the street. We gotta believe Adam's being kept alive for a reason." There was silence for another minute. Flack's left knee was bouncing nervously as he shot down the highway. Usually silence was appreciated before things like this. It kept them focused, got them ready for the task and drowned out all distractions.

Not this time.

"What were you saying about Mac?" Flack asked, his knuckles tightening on the steering wheel. He hadn't let Danny tell him back in the apartment. They had leads on Adam's location that needed to be dealt with first. Now that they had, he needed to know.

"You sure?" Danny looked over at him warily. "We need to be focused on this now, Donny. Adam's life depends on it."

Don wanted to glare at him even though he knew he was speaking sense. "Now you're just scarin' me. At least tell me he's alive."

"He's alive." Danny confirmed. He sounded confident enough in that statement that it eased Flack's nerves a bit. Now they needed to make sure they could say the same thing about Adam.

As they neared the location, Flack ordered his backup team to cut their sirens and assume a silent approach. Spooking whoever had Adam would make him panic and probably shoot the kid on the spot, if he hadn't already.

The building loomed before them now. It was in a sparse business district with a few warehouses and a self-storage facility. Carson's Landscapers was smaller than the other buildings, maybe only two stories, but long. The building stretched back far into the nearly empty gravel lot. There was a small office in front, and the open back area supposedly consisted of supplies and other stock. Danny tapped Flack on the shoulder as they gathered in an adjacent lot with the backup team.

"You see that?"

A white van with fading letters on the door was parked in the back of the lot.

"They're here." Don nodded. He rounded up his team and handed out assignments. There were only three entrances. The front, the east side and a door in the back that joined with a loading bay. "This guy probably has a hostage, Adam Ross. We have reason to believe Carson wants him dead. We go in quiet and we hit hard and fast. Don't give him a chance to finish it. We all move in on my signal."

Flack and Danny made their way silently toward the back of building along with a few other officers. They aligned themselves around the back door which was made of metal and not likely to be kicked in. Flack instead set to work on picking the lock while another officer sent a scope under the door. Don heard the lock click and looked over at the officer who shook his head. He couldn't see anything inside.

A few short minutes later, the other teams reported that they were ready. Don stepped back, took a final look at the officers and nodded.

"All teams go." Flack ordered into his radio. He threw open the door and rushed inside, Danny right behind him.

He could hear the other teams rushing in, saw their lights dance across the open space, lighting up shelves and equipment, but nothing else. Shouts of "NYPD!" echoed down the aisles, but they were soon joined by the less enthusiastic "clear".

Don spun around, his flashlight searching hopelessly for any sign of the missing tech. Danny was muttering angrily to himself. "The van is outside. Dammit, they were supposed to be here!"

"Hold on…" Don's light glinted off of something on the floor just to his right. He stepped closer. There was a cage of chain link fence enclosing a small area housing only a desk and computer and a shattered phone. In the center were smudges of red, still wet, shining in the light of his flashlight. "Danny…"

Danny rushed forward, quickly assessing the signs. "Looks like a struggle…" His light found another drop outside the cage. "Heading this way…" He muttered. "Two set of footprints here…"

Flack's heart leapt at the news. "You sure? Two?"

"Positive." Danny shut the door Flack had picked to examine the other side. A bloody handprint was smeared across the handle. He looked at Don, afraid to hope. "He got out. From the looks of it they're both running."

"Atta boy, Adam… now where the hell are you?"

* * *

><p>Adam didn't know what had come over him. He'd never been in a fight in his life- at least one where he fought back. Now he was attacking a man with a gun and his hands were tied behind his back. The element of surprise had certainly worked in his favor.<p>

He'd somehow managed to climb to his feet and hit Carson square in the chest with his shoulder, ramming him into the chain-link and knocking the gun from his grip. Carson bounced off the fencing and hit the floor. Before he could attempt to reach for the gun, Adam kicked out, his foot connecting with Carson's head. It wasn't like the movies. Carson wasn't out cold, he was dazed, but also extremely pissed off.

Without the use of his arms, Adam's options were limited. He chose the only one he was comfortable with and ran. By the time he reached the door, Carson had staggered to his feet and was searching for the gun. Adam had to turn and face Carson in order to grasp the handle. The blood running down his back had coated his hands, making them slip and slide over the smooth metal. Carson grabbed the gun the moment Adam felt the knob turn under his hands. He threw the door open and ducked outside, hearing a bullet whiz by over his head before the door slammed shut behind him.

Adam was sure under any other circumstances, him hobbling along with his hands tied behind his back would have been quite comical. He made a note to laugh about it later. Right now, he needed to hide from Carson and free his hands.

He looked around frantically. It figured he was in the one truly deserted part of New York. Not even the drunkest of Friday night partiers ended up here. Adam took the first cover he could find, ducking between a gap in the fencing of what looked like an outdoor self-storage facility. He winced and bit back a cry as his back scraped through the narrow gap. His jacket snagged on a sharp edge and he panicked, but freed himself almost immediately as heard a ripping sound and felt the cool breeze of the night on his back.

"Adam!"

His heart stopped for a moment as his name echoed around him. Adam forced himself to keep moving. Carson was getting closer. Adam vaguely heard sirens in the distance and his heart leapt, but then they faded away. He was alone… He needed to get out of this himself.

Adam kept moving deeper into the facility, lost in the maze of containers. He came upon one section which seemed to be filled with old campers and boats. Adam hurried in between them and came upon an uncovered speed boat resting high on its trailer. With some difficulty, Adam managed to writhe his way onto the deck and into the boat, where he landed with a dull thud, hidden safely from sight.

The moon made a brief appearance as the clouds parted, giving Adam a good view of his surroundings. The boat was mostly empty- not surprising considering it was in storage and open to anyone who walked by- but something glinted near the driver's seat that caught his eye. Adam inched his way across the carpeted floor, feeling oddly like a caterpillar as he contorted himself to move. He just hoped the boat wasn't moving so much as to draw Carson's attention. He hadn't heard him in a few minutes, but between all the sounds of the night and his nerves, he couldn't be sure if the man was close.

Adam finally maneuvered his way around the engine block in the center of the floor and realized what he had seen. Lying across the floor was the tower, used for holding water skis and wakeboards when out on the lake. At the bottom was what he was looking for. A long screw was protruding from the metal pipe, usually used to help secure the tower. Right now, it was his ticket to freedom. Adam twisted himself around and started to rub his bindings against the threads of the screw, slowing wearing away the plastic ties that bound his wrists.

"Adam!" He was much closer now. It hit Adam that he was possibly leaving a blood trail behind him, in which case Carson would find him soon.

Adam moved his hands even faster, wincing as he slipped and felt the screw bite into his skin. He kept going. He could feel the plastic start to stretch…

The boat suddenly rocked as Carson appeared over the back seat. A grin split his face as he spotted Adam struggling. He stepped closer, his gun raising to level with Adam's head. "Nice try."

* * *

><p>Flack was calling for dogs to be brought in to search the area. He'd been over the adjacent lot already and found nothing. Danny had found a few blood drops, but nothing after that. Adam could have been anywhere.<p>

"Danny, I called in air support, but I think we should start looking over-."

A single gunshot ripped through the air.

* * *

><p>AN: And yes, I am a jerk. One who likes reviews, cuz I don't know what I'm doing anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Ignore all previous whining. That was what I call Mav in a bad mood. If I could quit school, I would. I'm procrastinating studying, so you get another chapter! Thanks so so much for all the reviews! I loved seeing some new people commenting! All of your encouragement was definitely appreciated.

Castover- the fan girl won out. ;)

* * *

><p>Flack and Danny ran toward the sound of the shot. It reverberated inside Danny's head, repeating itself over and over again along with the words <em>don't be dead, don't be dead…<em>

"I got another blood trail!" He called. He and Don slowed briefly to make sure they were on the right path. A torn piece of fabric sticking to a gate was all the evidence they needed to start running again. They launched themselves over the fence and into the storage facility.

Danny could feel Don behind him as the rounded the first corner which opened up into parallel rows of storage units. "NYPD!" Danny called. "Come out with your hands up!" Silence was his only response.

More officers had joined them and split up into the adjacent rows. An eerie calm had settled after the gun shot, but Danny's heart was still pounding. They were nearing the edge of the row now. Another corner loomed before them. Flack took up the appropriate cover position as Danny readied himself. He glanced back at Flack, nodded once and spun around to the other side of the wall.

Another empty aisle of units greeted him. If possible, Danny's heart only started beating faster. They should have seen something by now. Maybe they were both too injured to move? Maybe they were holed up somewhere, hiding?... Maybe Carson had shot Adam and took the back way out. Danny shook his head. He was just full of the negative thoughts tonight, now, wasn't he?

A shuffling sound cut into his thoughts and he stopped, listening hard.

Danny saw the shape coming at him from the corner of his eye and knew it was on a collision course, but couldn't move fast enough to get out of the way. A second later it had reached him, bowling into his side and tackling him to the ground. Danny immediately twisted and lashed out, training taking over for his stunned brain. The figure writhed and Danny felt a hard elbow glance off his chin. He grabbed the offending arm and jerked it around behind the figure's back and pinned him into the ground.

"Danny, stop!" Flack cried.

As soon as he said it, Danny realized what he'd done. He let go of the figure and jumped back. It groaned and turned onto its side. "Adam!" Danny and Don were both on the ground, hands helping to steady the tech as he shakily sat up. The propped him up against a nearby unit, but that only made Adam cry out in pain as his back touched the wall. Danny compromised by sitting against the wall himself and letting Adam lean into his shoulder.

Don knelt in front of them and checked the tech over. "…the hell happened to you…" Flack was muttering, more to himself than Adam. Blood had dried across the right half of Adam's face where it had streamed down from a cut above his eye. His hands were stained red and his wrists showed angry red welts and lacerations from where he'd been bound.

"Adam, where's Carson, what happened?" Danny pressed. A few officers had heard the scuffle and were now keeping watch nearby, waiting for instructions.

"I-I hit him… wi-with the pipe, and I-I ran." He gestured vaguely down another aisle and the officers set off to search in that direction.

"What about the shot, Adam?" Don asked. "Were you hit?"

Adam quickly shook his head, but it was hard to distinguish from the shaking of his entire body. "Hit him when he fired. Missed."

"Alright, good job, Adam. You did good." Danny praised, gently squeezing the tech's arm.

Don looked around them. He hadn't put his gun away yet. No one had reported seeing Carson. "We need to get you out of here. Can you walk?"

Adam nodded, but relied heavily on Danny to get him upright. After that, he was able to move along on his own, though Danny kept a hand out, ready to steady Adam should he need to. Don kept a watchful eye out, but his officers were now swarming the area, making it unlikely that Carson would get through if he had been stupid enough to stick around. Adam was alert enough to keep glancing around warily, apparently worried about that very thing. Danny couldn't blame him. He kept one hand on his Glock as well.

The front gate of the storage facility was open now, letting them walk out without performing the acrobatics that had gotten them inside. Danny was more grateful for Adam who looked dead on his feet. The white letters of CSI:NY printed across his back were now mottled with dark patches and stained with the tech's blood. A surge of anger shot through Danny. Carson better hope that he wasn't the one to find him…

The lights of the patrol cars and emergency vehicles danced across the otherwise deserted street up ahead. Danny heard Adam's sigh of relief and felt a sharp pain in his chest. The kid never should have gone through something like this. He didn't deserve that. He could think of a few people who did, and Adam definitely wasn't one of them. He'd never done anything to hurt anyone. Aside from some really horrible jokes, Adam was an innocent as they came.

They continued making their way toward the safe haven up ahead.

Adam saw the danger before Danny did.

A half strangled cry escaped his throat as he stumbled backwards. Flack and Danny spotted the glint in the shadows a second later. Both aimed their guns and positioned themselves in front of the tech protectively. The shadows shifted, revealing the man standing there, his gun pointed at the group.

"Drop the gun!" Don cried. "Drop it now!"

Carson didn't look phased by the guns pointed at him. He slowly started moving, trying to get a better look at Adam, but Flack and Danny moved with him, effectively hiding the tech from sight. Carson had blood flowing down the side of his head, courtesy of Adam. Danny felt a sense of pride at that. Served him right.

"I'd like nothing more than to shoot you right now, pal. Don't give me another reason." Danny warned. "Put the gun down."

Carson's hand started shaking. His teeth were grit, and Danny could have sworn angry tears were running down his face. "He took everything from me…" Carson whispered.

"I don't care what he did." Don barked. "Put the gun down now."

Carson's hand slowly started to lower, but Danny could see the switch in his eyes, knew what he was going to do next. Carson's gun suddenly raised again, twisting to angle at his own head. Danny fired. Carson fell to the ground, screaming in anguish more than pain for the hole in his arm.

Don rushed forward and kicked his gun away. "You don't get out of it that easy, pal." He wrenched Carson's arms behind his back and cuffed him before hauling him to his feet. Don kept a firm grip on the man's good arm as he started to lead him toward the patrol cars.

Carson was openly weeping, but finally having a clear view of Adam, he started shouting at him. "You don't deserve to live!"

"Oh shut up, you son of a bitch." Adam suddenly snapped. Carson looked shocked, and was silent for the next few seconds as Flack continued to drag him away. Danny grinned and held out a fist to Adam which the tech eagerly bumped with his own.

Flack handed off Carson to the waiting officers. The scumbag would need medical attention of course, which they were required to offer, but he was the least of Flack's worries now. EMS had just gotten their hands on Adam, but the tech was pushing them off.

"Adam!" Don rushed over. "Hey, you need to get to a hospital. Let them help you."

"Wait!" Adam cried, making the last medic back away immediately. Adam looked pleadingly at Danny and Flack. "Kendall and Mac. I need to know how they are."

"Kendall is shaken up, but she's fine. Mac is-." Flack looked to Danny, suddenly realizing he didn't know how Mac was.

"What?" Adam asked breathlessly. "Oh no, he got to him, didn't he? I tried to stop him. I did. The phone was dead, and I couldn't call, but I tried-."

"Adam, Adam, slow down!" Danny said, grabbing the tech's arms. "Take a breath. What are you talking about? What do you mean they 'got to him'?"

"Carson had someone watching Mac. Said he was gonna hurt him." Adam explained frantically.

Flack looked at Danny. "Is that what you-."

"No! Nothing like that. That's gotta be Wright. He never left the game. He never left the _hospital_. We gotta get over there."

"I'm coming with you." Before Flack and Don could offer up any objection, Adam continued. "You're going to a hospital right? That's where I was going anyways, right? What's the problem?"

"You're gonna bleed in my car." Flack offered as a last ditch effort.

"Really, Flack?"

Don groaned and grabbed a blanket from one of the EMS and tossed it to Adam. "Use that. Let's go."

Danny was already on the phone with hospital security as they climbed into the car. Adam took the back seat and awkwardly found a position comfortable enough for him which ended up being completely sideways. The blanket was around his shoulders. He wasn't sure how much good it was doing in containing the blood, but it at least made him stop shivering.

"So what's up with Mac already?" Flack demanded as soon as Danny hung up.

"They've reestablished security on the floor. They're searching the grounds. No sign of Wright yet."

"And Mac? What were you going to say earlier? It didn't sound good."

Flack saw Adam shift uncomfortably in the back seat, his eyes glued to Danny.

"Well, it's not the worst news. So, Hanson hears Mac's awake again, and he tells a passing nurse to go get his doctor or something and steps inside just to make sure he's okay. Well a nurse finally gets there, says the doctor is on his way and goes to check something. Well as soon as this guy gets close enough, Mac lashes out at him, starts attacking the guy. Hanson didn't have too much trouble pulling Mac off him, but it apparently freaked the nurse out, because he took off."

"Mac attacked him?" Flack asked flatly, doubt clearly etched on his face. "Who told you this story? Hanson?"

Danny shook his head. "Stella. She heard it from Mac's doctor. Said Mac's pretty out of it. Could be the head injury, plus his condition took a turn around then. Would have made him pretty confused. The doctor is frankly pretty surprised Mac keeps waking up at all, so that level of confusion he isn't surprised with."

"How long ago was that?" Adam suddenly asked.

"An hour or two I guess." Danny shrugged.

"That's when Carson told his guy to attack him." Adam said. "I listened to the call."

"This guy didn't attack Mac, it was the other way around." Danny argued.

"Wait, wait." Flack shook his head. "Mac saw Wright, in the lab. He knew what he looked like. If you woke up and saw him, you'd try and kill the guy too."

Danny ran a hand over his face as he sighed. "Well then how the hell did he get in the room? The entire hospital was on the lookout for him. Hanson was staring right at the guy!"

Flack shrugged. "Hanson thinks you and I look alike, Danny. Frankly if the guy had the proper ID, I probably wouldn't have looked too closely either. We didn't think Mac was a target anymore."

"He was right there…" Danny let out a growl of frustration. You think he would go after Mac again, Adam?"

"You'd think if he wanted to, he would have already." Flack said before Adam could answer.

Danny was shaking his head. "Not when he's been in surgery. Wright didn't have the chance."

Flack turned and glared at his passenger, almost forgetting to drive. "You left out the part where he was _in_ surgery, Danny."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Did I? That's what I meant by his condition taking a turn."

"They're not synonymous. I swear, I'm taking you off my emergency contacts. My family isn't even gonna know I was in the hospital until the funeral."

"Slow down, already. Let me explain. They noticed even after attacking this guy, Mac's blood pressure kept dropping so they figured they'd missed something, or he'd done something to himself, and went back in to fix it. From what security just told me, he's back in his room already."

"So…so Mac is gonna be okay?" Came Adam's timid voice from the back seat.

"Of course he is." Danny replied, twisting in his seat to look back at Adam. The tech blew out a long breath and shut his eyes. The poor kid looked exhausted. The pallor of his skin was only emphasized by the blood on his face.

"He was worried about you, Adam." Flack said, glancing in his rear view window at the tech. "He's the one that turned us on to the fact that you were in trouble. Otherwise we would have wasted a lot of time on things we shouldn't have and we wouldn't have been looking for you."

"On that note…" Danny started, glancing at Flack and frowning. "I want to apologize if you thought we blamed you for this, Adam. We didn't. We don't."

Flack nodded. "He's right. Neither of us believed you were capable of something like that… but I had to investigate every possibility."

Adam gave a faint smile. "It's okay. You had to…Hell, I thought I was guilty…" He added under his breath.

"What did this Carson guy have against you anyways?" Flack asked suddenly. It was still bugging him. Carson was a whinny little dirtbag, but something as vindictive as this had to go far deeper.

Adam shrugged. "I got him kicked out of school."

"So he tried to kill you?" Danny asked doubtfully. "Seems a little drastic."

"Well he kept saying it was my fault that a girl was dead."

Flack and Don shared a brief look.

"Do you know what he was talking about?" Adam asked.

"The only girl we've come across is a wife that died from cancer years ago, just after he got expelled. He can't blame you for that." Danny shrugged.

Flack scoffed. "In a guy that messed up? Who knows. Do you know a Scott Wright?"

"Sounds familiar…" Adam leaned back into the seats, and Flack could see the exhaustion catching up to him as the adrenaline quickly wore off.

The hospital was only fifteen minutes away with his lights and sirens. It was the only reason Don agreed to take him instead of the ambulance. Plus he wanted to keep a closer eye on the kid. If the way he was freaking out with the paramedics was any indication of his mental state, then it was better for Adam to wind down for a bit in the safe company of people he knew. Of course, Don would feel better once they got Adam checked out. He looked like crap.

There was a danger in taking Adam there, he knew, but Wright had probably fled the scene already. The hospital was crawling with cops again either way. If his first attempt on Mac's life said anything about his skills as an assassin, they weren't good. He'd let a man who'd been in an explosion and suffered considerable blood loss scare him away. Don planned to keep Danny or one of the other CSI's with Adam at all times along with a few officers anyways. His men knew the layout of the hospital now, and taking Adam to a different hospital would only split their defenses. He had a feeling Adam would be wanting to see Mac with his own eyes to make sure he was okay as well.

"You still good back there, Adam?" Flack called.

Adam gave a brief thumbs up and a smile as he fought to keep his eyes open. Flack drove faster.

The ER staff had quickly whisked Adam away, reluctantly letting Danny accompany them while two officers stood guard at the door outside. Don made sure Danny understood what giving him an update meant before he made his way back up to the fourth floor. He was pleased that the first officer he ran in to made sure he had his badge on him before he could go any further.

Don's exhausted mind started to wander as he walked through the hallways. Now that he thought about it, it was actually pretty funny that Mac had fought Wright off on his own. Screw the protective detail, Mac Taylor was a Marine. He would have liked to see Adam beam that Carson guy with a pipe too…

Don ran a hand over his face and then looked at his watch. Almost 5 am. The explosion had happened around 8pm the night before, and he'd been awake since 7am yesterday morning. He was fast approaching 24 hours without sleep. He couldn't help but find irony in the fact that for the first time in his life, Mac Taylor had gotten more sleep that night than anyone else on his team. He was apparently fighting that every time he woke up. Typical Mac. Don allowed himself a genuine smile for the first time in what felt like ages. He finally felt like it would all work out.

* * *

><p>AN: I might have been in too good of a mood when I wrote this... Oh well. Maybe 2 more chapters. The action might (maybe...) be over, but Adam has more to deal with and I have a lot of loose ends to tie up. Would you believe I already have those chapters written? Because I find it hard to believe that I do. I'll put them up after all the reviews come in for this one. And please review! Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you so much as always for your fantastic reviews. Again, I heard from a new person! So glad to hear from you, and all of you 'regulars' as well. Always appreciated.

So this chapter is kind of different. Explaining everything got boring, and I hate spelling things out, so I decided to make Adam do all of it himself. We'll see how that works. PLUS I finally got Mac back in here. I really wasn't going to keep him unconscious for the whole story, I swear...

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><p>Adam nervously shut the heavy metal door behind him, wincing as the lock clicked back into place. He suddenly realized the elevator would have been much less conspicuous than the stairs and also would have left more air in his lungs by the end. <em>Well, too late now. This is why you're not a cop.<em> Speaking of cops, the floor was now devoid of them- the uniforms at least. Adam knew a few plain clothes were hanging around as a precaution. They knew him on sight now, and as bad as Adam was with names, he could probably point them out by now as well. Adam realized that all of this made it ridiculous for him to even try to sneak around, but he did anyways. He felt stupid about what he was doing even if no one else did. He kind of hoped they didn't know, but considering how every aspect of his life for the past two days was practically a matter of public record, he doubted it.

Adam finally found the right room number and nodded politely to a man about his age standing just down the hallway dressed in jeans and a striped polo. Adam was pretty sure his name was Mark. Nice guy. He was always offering coffee to everybody, thus making him a horrible undercover cop, but Adam liked having him around. He was better than that Vander-something guy who bore an eerie resemblance to a WWII fascist dictator and always made Adam feel like he was doing something wrong. Flack assured him that _Doug_ was a perfectly nice guy and actually quite a pushover. Yeah, Adam would believe that when he saw it- though the name Doug actually gave weight to Flack's argument.

Adam cautiously entered the room. The overhead lights were on a dimmed setting, leaving the room darker than the hallway, but not as dark as it was outside. Adam thought it might have been just before dawn, but wasn't sure. The last 2 days had been a blur of doctors, cops plus one lawyer he wasn't too fond of. His pain meds made him sleep at odd hours, screwing up his entire perception of night and day. That was partly the reason for why he was here now and not a decent hour of the day, when he was actually allowed to be there. The rest of the reason was laid out before him, still hooked to IVs and monitors and dead to the world- Adam shuddered- _not_ dead, asleep… maybe comatose.

Who was he kidding? He came here because he knew Mac would most likely be out cold, plus Stella had finally gone home for a night, and there were no longer 24/7 guards at the door, or following him. He wanted to be alone…aside from Mac… and oddly enough Adam preferred him asleep for this. He didn't anticipate any trouble with that changing. Turns out the second surgery had been to fix an internal bleed. They did it easily enough, but the additional loss of blood had taken its toll. He hadn't woken up since.

Adam blew out a breath and settled into the cushy chair that now sat beside Mac's bed. The plastic torture device that had been here previously had been replaced after the hospital staff realized if Stella spent any more time in it, she might develop a permanent disability. Adam and his still tender back were grateful as well. Steeling himself, Adam leaned forward onto his knees and glanced over the body in front of him. Honestly there hadn't been much change since the first time he'd seen him only 2 days ago. Some of the shallower cuts had shrunk in size and the bruises had changed color, but the overall impression was the same.

"Hey, Boss…" Adam greeted awkwardly, his voice shaking slightly. He cleared his throat. Not even an eyelid twitched on the man before him. "I uh… I realize this is really weird. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing here. I mean, I know talking to people in comas is supposed to help them, but I don't know if you even technically are, so… I'm just gonna pretend. Stella says they're having trouble waking you up again, so who knows? Maybe I can do something to help you for a change. You should have seen Flack when he figured out the second surgery wasn't quite as minor as Danny let on. I know they're friends, but sometimes I think they could kill each other." Mac still hadn't moved. The steady beep of the heart monitor filled the silence.

"Uh… They told me you helped them figure out what was going on. I don't know how you knew. No one does, but I'm really grateful you did. Lindsay thinks it's some kind of miracle, I mean, you've been conscious a total of maybe 10 minutes in the last 2 days, and 5 of those you spent remembering the explosion, and the last 5 you had no idea what even happened. In a really selfish way I'm just grateful for those first 5. You saved me, and then I guess you saved yourself, but me too. I don't know what I would have done if Wright had gotten to you. Well, I would have blamed myself, is what I would have done… I guess I still am anyways."

Adam took a deep breath as his voice caught. "You know, everyone keeps telling me it's not my fault, but wouldn't it just be selfish to brush it off and think 'yeah, I had nothing to do with it, so let that guy suffer for getting in the way'? That's not fair… I shouldn't be the one that gets off- not unscathed, I guess, but less…scathed? Is scathed a word? I'm rambling…Sorry."

Mac didn't show any indication that he minded, so Adam went on. "I mean I hate to say this, but some good things have come out of this… You know, aside from the crushing guilt of almost getting you killed and getting everybody in trouble. Stella probably didn't tell you that. Sinclair pulled everyone off the case after Flack and Danny found me. She's kind of in some trouble. Sinclair isn't going to do anything until he talks to you though. And then there's Kendall… Stella is waiting for you to figure out what to do with her too. Kendall still won't talk to me. She finally talked to Lindsay though. She didn't know who Carson was, but she let him up into the lab anyways. He gave some excuse and she bought it. Lindsay says she feels really guilty about it, and that's why she's won't talk to me, but I don't know…

"But the good stuff, now. Well, they haven't found Wright, but they don't really expect to anymore. I'm kinda surprised that I'm not worried at all. They're pretty sure he left town anyways. They still gave me body guards for the past two days. I guess they're not technically body guards, but it sounds cooler and it made them feel better about watching a lab geek around the clock. Turns out one of them is really good at Call of Duty… I'm gonna miss having him on my team.

"Besides that, I've never gotten flowers from anyone before, but now my apartment is full of them. I didn't realize anybody actually cared about me before- which sounds dumb, but I mean, I kind of thought it was one of those, 'I see you for 50 hours a week, I _have_ to be nice to you' things, but I really don't anymore. Stella and Lindsay keep hugging me, like they're making sure I'm alive. It's kind of awkward, but I don't mind. Flack nearly took Carson's head off in interrogation I hear. Angell made him leave. She was afraid he'd kill him. She did get a full confession from Carson though." Adam smiled to himself, but it quickly faded as his throat tightened and his eyes started to burn.

"Turns out Carson had this great job lined up after grad school. When I got him kicked out, they withdrew the offer, and all the benefits- like health insurance. Carson's wife had just been diagnosed with cancer, late stages. The best chance she had was treatment they couldn't afford anymore. With no job and no insurance to pay for it, she ended up dying… Carson blamed me for it." Adam shifted restlessly. "You know, I keep thinking, if I had known, I would have done something- or I guess nothing. I would have let him just get away with it I guess. How could I know, though? I just… I thought I was doing the right thing, and then…"

Adam looked hopelessly at the unconscious man. "You would have advice for this situation, wouldn't you? Of course you would." Adam sighed. Still nothing. "You're really worrying Stella by not waking up, you know? I selfishly appreciate that you're stayed unconscious for my rambling, but you really should probably start getting better soon. I can live with everything else that happened, but not until I'm sure you're gonna be okay, because I got you into this." Adam rose from his seat and stepped closer to the bed. He looked down at his boss.

"Mac… I am _so_ sorry." Adam felt a single tear slip down his cheek and quickly wiped it away with his sleeve. "Please be okay…" Adam backed away and left without another word.

He didn't see it when Mac finally opened his eyes moments later.

* * *

><p>Mac had never been so grateful to be able to sit in a chair before. It certainly wasn't his favorite armchair at home- which Stella assured him he would be spending the next week in if she had anything to say about it- but it wasn't the typical hard-backed chair he was used to seeing in hospitals either. He'd spent enough time in them to know the damaging effects they left on the human body. He was grateful Stella had somehow managed to grab this one instead- not that he intended to be sitting here much longer.<p>

Mac was admittedly exhausted just by getting out of bed. Stella was asleep, but at least she had an excuse. Between staying with Mac as much as the hospital permitted, and getting the lab back together, she hadn't taken a breath for days, and probably still wouldn't have if Mac hadn't flat out ordered her to. So today, he was sitting in the chair, and Stella was curled up on his bed, fast asleep. It had taken her about as much time to pass out as it had taken Mac to get completely winded. He'd been sitting there for maybe a half an hour and still felt light headed. His entire left side stung and throbbed with his heartbeat, while his right side just felt like a giant bruise.

He took his mind off it by going over his own case file which Sinclair had dropped off with the promise that he would be back for a more work-related discussion the next day. Oh and wasn't Mac just so excited for that visit… He occasionally glanced up to make sure Stella was still asleep and was glad to see that she was.

This was the scene Don Flack walked into minutes later. "I knew it. I told her she would worry herself to death."

Mac smiled at him, but held up a finger to his lips, warning Don to be quiet.

Flack winced and mouthed an apology before taking a seat next to Mac. Don was second only to Stella in time spent at his bedside. Mac was both flattered and embarrassed. He didn't like the thought of people hovering over him while he laid there either unconscious or incoherent, and those two words described his existence over the last four days. Mac had only started forming clear memories the previous day. Before that, every brief minute of consciousness was filled with confusion and whoever was there explaining what had happened to him over again.

After he kept apologizing for it, Stella had told Mac she was just glad he was awake and didn't care how many times she had to explain it so long as he was still around. It was only then that he realized how close he had been to slipping away at one point. He'd of course apologized again without thinking- he hadn't forgotten since.

"You look tired." Don said in a tone low enough to not disturb the sleeping woman across the room.

Mac stopped rubbing his eyes and sighed, "Yeah, the doctor claims it's going to be that way for a while."

"Nothing you're not used to right? I mean you've got a few years' worth of sleep to catch up on anyways. Do I need to tell Stella to give you your bed back?" Doc teased. He'd been at it since Mac had woken up. Mac wasn't sure if it was an attempt to cheer him up or if it was just Flack's way of coping with hospitals- which he "secretly" had an irrational fear of.

"No," Mac shook his head. "She's close to being admitted herself. This was the only way I could get her to sleep. I need to be up anyways. I've been sleeping for 4 days."

"Not without good reason. Two of those you were practically in a coma. I think that last bout of internal bleeding brought your total blood loss to about 30% of total volume? Plus a good sized concussion. Did they actually let you out of bed, or was this you sneaking around?" Don asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend suspiciously.

Mac glanced away, giving a sheepish smile. "I pulled some strings."

"Meaning..."

"I made a deal."

"To..." Don pressed.

Mac rolled his eyes. "To stay another day."

Don grinned. "So this is how we get you to stay in a hospital. _We_ just have to be in need of medical intervention."

Mac gave Don a look, but couldn't stop the smile on his face. "It's a one-time thing. I didn't realize they were planning to discharge me in a week."

"You're staying another full week?" Don asked in surprise.

Mac was smiling again, a glint to his eyes, "That was before. The additional day was tacked onto the three I agreed to stay before leaving AMA."

"4 days? Not bad. More than I dared hope for. How long was I in here? Almost 3 weeks, was it?" Flack said, giving Mac a look that almost made him roll his eyes. He had a feeling Flack's presence here had a lot to do with the debt he thought he owed Mac for the explosion two years ago.

"You were in a coma for the first." Mac countered. "Damage was a lot more extensive internally."

"Yeah, whatever."

Mac smirked. "Glass vs. building. Who do you think came out worse?"

"Alright, touché. You win. Still. It's nothing to mess around with." Don gave his friend a pointed look, one that Mac shrugged off.

"All I'm doing here is sleeping. I can do that at home."

"And they can monitor you in case something else goes wrong."

"That was-..." Mac sighed. He had no memory of the night he came here, but he knew the report. "That was because they missed some shrapnel the first time around. They're positive they have it all now."

"So it had nothing to do with you launching yourself at an attempted murderer." Don suggested casually.

"I don't remember doing that." Mac replied innocently.

"Hardly gets you off the hook." Don grinned. "You'd do the same thing today."

Mac just smiled and shrugged. "Only because I have his picture in this file." he admitted, holding up the case report he'd been reading. "Wouldn't recognize him otherwise."

Don reached over and took it, "Doing some light reading, huh? Can't say I care much for the pictures." he said as he came upon the photos taken of Mac's injuries. "Mine were much uglier."

Mac nodded. "I took those pictures of you."

"Oh I know. I'm a big fan of your work, got one on my fridge. Girlfriend said it was the best diet tool ever. Made her think twice before eating."

Mac smirked, "You know who took these ones?"

"I think it was Lindsay. She rode here with you in the ambulance and stayed. Adam too for a while, until he was, you know..." Don trailed off.

Mac immediately noted the switch in atmosphere. "You hear from Adam yet?"

Flack frowned. "I dropped by his place earlier. He still won't answer. He talked to Lindsay yesterday. She said he sounded okay, but didn't talk much. I still got a guy on his place just in case, but we got a lead that Wright is down in Ohio where he has family. My guy says Adam hasn't left his place since he got there."

Mac just nodded. He was worried about his tech. Don and Danny and filled him on what had happened when he was out, and it sounded like Adam had gone through absolute hell, and still blamed himself for all of it. Stella claimed she had seen Adam leaving Mac's room just before he'd woken up from his near coma-like state.  
>Mac had a vague recollection of Adam talking to him, but with all his fractured memories, he couldn't be sure what it was. Other than that, no one had seen Adam come near Mac's room since he was discharged from the hospital himself 3 days ago. In fact no one had seen Adam at all for the last two days.<p>

"That robe complimentary?" Don suddenly asked, the sudden change in mood making him uncomfortable.

"It's policy if I'm going to be up. You want it?"

"Sure, if you throw in the scrubs you got there too. I've always wanted a pair."

Mac smiled, but his mind wandered back to Adam. What was he doing?

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><p>AN: So the ending is already written, I just need to decide if I want to add a scene before it or not. But I do anticipate the next chapter is the last. Please review and let me know if any of that made the least bit of sense.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Alright, here it is, the last chapter. I've had it written for about three weeks already(before the last 7 chapters), so I'm excited it's finally getting posted. Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and stuck with me through this thing. The last story I had that was 11 chapters took me 2 years to write, so y'all are lucky I've stopped slacking.

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><p>"I'm giving you about five seconds to explain why you're here, and then I'm going to call security to haul you out."<p>

Mac looked the equivalent of a kid with his hand in the cookie jar, only he was a grown man caught sitting in his partner's office the day after being released from the hospital. He stared, his mouth slightly open.

"Mac." Stella snapped. He was grateful the doors here didn't slam shut or she might have broken it, and he'd had enough shattered glass to last him a life time. "You promised me. I let you go home alone last night and you _promised_ me you would stay there. So tell me, what in the _hell_ are you doing here?"

Mac held up his hands. "Just give me a second. It's hard for me to think." It was true the concussion and blood loss had combined to make his brain more sluggish than he liked, even a week later. However, at this moment, he was certain he was just caught off guard by his fuming partner.

"Clearly. You weren't thinking when you came here."

"Stella…" He gave her a pleading look and she caved, blowing out a breath before she crossed her arms and waited. "Look, I was just trying to remember, okay?"

"Remember what? Why? You know what happened." Stella still sounded upset, but Mac could tell she was softening as she sat down on her couch and watched him, familiar concern mixing in with her frustration.

Mac shook his head. "I know what the report said."

"What else do you need to know?"

Mac gingerly leaned back in Stella's chair, mindful of stretching the still-healing lacerations on his chest. He stared out the window at the already repaired trace lab. He'd seen the photos of the damage, but it wasn't the same. "I need to know why. Why did I say Adam was the target? I had no evidence to support that."

"Does it really matter now? You were right."

Mac sighed and looked hopelessly back at his partner. "Lindsay told me that Adam blamed himself for what happened. He was convinced that what happened was because he did something. The report says I approached the lab just after Adam left. Whatever I saw then, and whatever Adam did the second before that led us to believe what we did. I _need_ to know what it was."

"We all assumed you saw Wright. He was in the lab then."

"Even if I did, I didn't know who he was. Maybe I recognized him at the hospital and remembered him pressing a trigger or something, but the fact is, before that night, I didn't know him. That wasn't the connection to Adam."

"Mac, there are a million reasons you could have assumed it was Adam and not you. He was the only other one around. You weren't working trace. You were going home. As out of it as you were, you went with your gut and you were right. Not the first time it's happened, so why question it now? You need to accept that you won't always know everything. Isn't that what you say to me?"

Mac glanced at the ground. "It's not for me. If I can remember, maybe I can help. Maybe there's something I forgot that will help him."

Stella frowned. "Is this about Adam?" Mac didn't say anything as he looked up at her. She went on. "He said he thought leaving his station was responsible for the blast. We know it wasn't. He knows it wasn't. That's not why he's shut himself in. He was kidnapped. Isn't that enough?"

He silently shook his head again. "It's something else." He muttered, staring out the window.

"Why does it have to be something else?" Stella asked, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

Mac sighed and slid an envelope across her desk. "Because I found that in my office."

Stella watched Mac as she cautiously took the envelope and read what was inside. Her frown deepened. When she finished, she slowly folded the paper back up. "You know, Mac, I don't think evidence is going to help him. What he needs is a friend."

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><p>Adam glared at his front door, as if it were to blame for the person currently knocking on it from the other side. He looked back at the TV which was playing a movie he had put in an hour ago. He had yet to pay attention enough to figure out the plot. From the amount of gun fire, he figured there wasn't much of one to begin with anyways. The only time the movie had held his attention was when a bomb exploded and he nearly dove for cover and spent the next 5 minutes hyperventilating. He had almost turned the movie off at that point, but instead he hunkered down into his well-worn couch and tried to distract himself with aps on his phone. That's when it struck him just how many games he had that involved blowing stuff up.<p>

The knocking started up again, louder and slower this time. They knew he was here… of course they did. His TV was blaring Die Hard and Hans' henchmen were doing a good job of destroying every last pane of glass in the building. Bruce Willis with his bare feet wasn't too happy about it either. Adam could sympathize. They were probably still finding glass shards in the lab.

More knocking. With a sigh-turned-groan Adam paused the movie and rose with some difficulty from his couch. His back still ached, along with several other body parts he had been unaware of until a few days ago.

Adam unlocked the extra deadbolt he'd had installed, but left the safety latch engaged as he pulled the door open as far as the catch would allow. "Boss?" His voice nearly cracked in surprise as Mac looked back at him through the 6-inch gap in the door.

"Adam." Mac nodded. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he added, "Can I…come in?"

"Hold on a sec." He quickly shut the door and undid the catch, taking a sweeping look around his apartment as he did so. The place was a wreck- food containers and a few empty beer bottles decorated the table, a pile of dirty clothes sat in front of the door to his room.

Adam hesitated and darted back through the apartment, grabbing trash on his way. He kicked the clothes into his room, tossed the trash in after and shut the door. The apartment was still far from clean, but at least looked livable. Unfortunately he wasn't so sure about the smell. He pulled the front door open again to find Mac waiting calmly in the hallway. "Sorry about that…" Adam smiled sheepishly as he stepped back to let Mac in.

As he walked by, Adam got a good look at his boss for the first time since seeing him in the hospital one week ago. The cuts on his face were healing for the most part, though the deepest one on his right temple, sustained in his "landing" after being blown 20 feet through the air, was still covered. Mac was wearing a loose jacket that concealed the rest of his injuries, but he did limp slightly, favoring his left side. He still looked slightly pale and possibly a little shaky in his movements. Adam realized he hadn't even heard about Mac getting out of the hospital already.

"Um, do you want to sit?" Adam suggested, motioning to the couch. His kitchen table consisted of one unstable wooden chair and a folding table currently covered in last night's dinner of Taco Bell, otherwise he would have suggested that. Honestly his couch wasn't a very appealing alternative.

"Sure." Mac went to sit and to his obvious surprise, ending up sinking a foot lower than he anticipated.

"Uh, yeah, the couch is pretty…mushy." Adam explained apologetically as he took a seat on the far end. Mac just flashed a smile. "So uh, what brings you here? I-I didn't know you were out."

Mac nodded. "Last night. How are you doing?"

Adam shrugged. "I'm good. Just some bruises." Mac was giving him a look like he was expecting more than that, but Adam kept silent.

"Anything else going on?" Mac prodded in the way that meant he was fishing for information he already knew.

Adam shrugged one shoulder. He knew where this was going…

"Then do you want to explain why I found this on my desk this morning?" Mac said, pulling an envelope out of his jacket pocket.

Adam bit his lip and stared at the cushion separating him and his boss. "I…didn't think you'd be back at the office so soon." Adam suspected there was probably a story there involving an irate Stella and a chaperone for the next couple of hours at Mac's home, but Adam didn't think he'd be hearing it any time soon.

"Is that supposed to make a difference?" It was both impressive and terrifying how Mac could speak so calmly and yet make you feel as though he were yelling.

"I guess not…"

Mac let out a long sigh and leaned forward on his knees, trying to catch the tech's eyes. "Adam, why are you quitting?"

Adam bit his lip. "I figured I would just beat you to the punch I guess."

Mac's eyes narrowed slightly as he took on a confused expression. "You think I would fire you?"

"You fired Kendall." Adam muttered, staring just to the right of Mac as his hands fidgeted restlessly in his lap.

Mac licked his lips and tilted his head thoughtfully. "Kendall called me and we decided it would be best if she left. She let two unauthorized men into the lab and lied. She's lucky we don't prosecute. What does that have to do with you?"

Adam shrugged, his eyes dropping back to the couch which he suddenly realized was so stained, he couldn't quite remember its original shade.

Mac went on. "That experiment was officially Kendall's, Adam. Just because you offered to help, that doesn't make it your responsibility when she leaves, especially when she didn't ensure you were going to watch it for her."

"I don't want to be forgiven on a technicality, Mac." Adam groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Mac cocked his head and watched his tech with a sad smile. "Okay, fine. Under normal circumstances, I might have punished you both for arguing and letting it interfere with your work. You know the lecture, Adam, I don't need to give it to you. Policies and standards, protocol… if you didn't hear it from me, you heard it through the walls when I was giving it to someone else."

Adam felt heat rising into his face and ducked his head in shame. He had indeed joined the other techs in eavesdropping on those conversations…

"If you want me to be brutally honest, I know that this is a mistake you're never going to make again." Mac continued. "I have a feeling you're going to be the most loyal and thorough tech at my disposal for at least the next few months. It's would be stupid to get rid of an asset like that." Mac was actually teasing him. He was facing a guy who almost got him killed several times in the last week and he was making a joke.

Adam sighed, shaking his head. "But us leaving is the only reason you were there when it-…" He trailed off as Mac's eyes widened slightly in understanding.

"You think I would fire you because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Adam couldn't think of a response. He merely shrugged. Did he think Mac was that vindictive to kick him out because of what happened? No. Did Adam think it was his fault for what happened to Mac? Yes. Did he think he deserved to be fired for it? Maybe… The real question was whether or not Adam could live with the guilt of everything he'd caused.

"Adam, look at me." Mac's voice was soft, but Adam's eyes snapped up as if he had demanded it. "I have no intentions of firing you… and I don't blame you for what happened."

Adam finally pulled his eyes away as they started to sting. He blinked rapidly, fighting the accumulation of unwelcome tears. "Mac, I just can't- I can't… work there knowing that something I did-something I did almost killed- …people."

"You are not responsible for what other people choose to do. _You_ didn't do anything, Adam. Carson did."

"But he did it because of me! Because of what I did!" Adam snapped, and then almost immediately recoiled. Mac was looking at him strangely. Adam couldn't quite tell what his expression was, as he was afraid to look at him for long, but if he didn't know better, he would say Mac actually looked somewhat hurt. Adam felt even more guilty now. "I'm sorry…" He whispered, casting his eyes to the floor again.

Mac's jaw clenched and unclenched as his eyes flashed, not in anger at Adam, but at something else entirely. He ran a hand over his face and got his emotions under control as he sighed, "Adam, would you stop acting like I'm going to hurt you? I'm not."

Adam was about to apologize again, but was able to stop himself. He just nodded and stared at the couch again.

"I haven't accepted _this_ yet, but we're not on the clock either." Mac continued, waving the envelope in his hand. "So if you want to yell, get something off your chest, blame me even, now is the time."

"Why would I blame-?" Adam shook his head and covered his face with his hand. He didn't say anything else. Adam had always been fairly emotional, but rarely ever unloaded on someone, especially not his boss. The thought had never crossed his mind as an option.

"I extend this offer to everyone who works for me, and somehow they think they can't trust me, or I won't understand." Mac suddenly said, sensing Adam's unease. "But I can tell you, Adam, if you're looking for someone who's been in your shoes, I'm the closest you're gonna get."

Adam looked up in surprise and saw Mac looking back at him, his normally intense eyes holding a mix of sympathy and sadness. "What are you talking about?"

"You feel guilty because something you did, through an unpredictable chain of events, led to people getting hurt. Right?" Adam merely stared back. Mac took a deep breath and continued, "You had no more control over what Carson did, than I had over Andy, or Dobson."

Adam saw Mac in a rare state of carefully veiled vulnerability as the freshness of both events seemed to hit him. Both had occurred within the last 6 months- Andy had been arrested a mere two months ago. Adam hadn't even considered that his boss would feel the same way about those things. He was usually so...well, Vulcan almost. Mac never discussed personal matters with his team unless it was to Stella, or - like now- to help someone who needed advice. They all meant something to Mac. Adam knew that, and yet it had never clicked for him until now.

"So… you felt like it was your fault?" Adam asked hesitantly.

Mac nodded. "Hard not to. They tell you it's your fault. You can argue back, say it's on them, but you can't help it. It's natural. It points to your character, Adam, that you would take the blame on yourself. Carson wanted to put the fault on anyone but him to justify what he was doing, so he picked you. He was into fraud well before his wife got cancer. He didn't want to take responsibility for his actions, so you did. You didn't do anything wrong, then or now."

"It's just… it's hard. It just eats at me, and I can't stop thinking about what might have happened." Adam choked out, feeling embarrassed as his voice broke in front of his boss.

Mac only nodded, not judging, just understanding. "I know…" He swallowed and glanced away for the first time since entering Adam's apartment.

"How do you…how do you deal with it?" Adam asked hesitantly.

Mac looked up in surprise, but at the same time a shadow of a smile passed over his face. "One day at a time." He paused and leaned forward, fixing Adam with his intense eyes. "You're gonna be okay, Adam."

Adam was busy trying to find some discreet way to keep the water welling in his eyes from spilling over. He settled with dragging his shirt collar up over his face as he nodded. "Thanks…"

"Any time." Sensing Adam's embarrassment, and to give him time to compose himself, Mac looked away. His eyes landed on the TV where Bruce Willis was caught in a freeze frame in the middle of picking glass shards out of his feet. "Die Hard, huh?"

Adam sniffed, grateful for the welcome distraction and noticed the scene he had paused the movie on. He glanced at Mac and the wounds that covered him caused by a similar event. "Oh…yeah. Um…sorry."

Mac just laughed. "I never appreciated that scene before now."

Adam allowed himself a shaky smile. "Yeah, stings, right?"

Mac nodded, still smiling. "Yes, it does."

"Do you…want a drink or something?" Adam offered.

Mac raised an eyebrow. "You drinking alcohol on that medication?"

"No, no, no," Adam sputtered. "Actually I've stocked up on Dr. Pepper. It's kind of all I have. You could frankly find cleaner water in Mexico. I tested the tap here once. Not exactly up to standards."

Mac chuckled, leaning back into the soft couch. "Yeah, I'll have one."

Adam hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a couple cans. He handed one to Mac and took his seat back on the other side of the couch. "So you uh…you want to finish watching this?"

Mac nodded thoughtfully. "Sure, why not."

Adam couldn't help but feel he was sitting in some alternate reality… A mere week ago he had been fighting for his life at the hands of a vengeful classmate and thought he had killed his boss. Now he was sitting back on his couch, drinking sodas and mocking Die Hard with Mac Taylor.

Adam discretely slid the envelope containing his letter of resignation off the coffee table where Mac had dropped it and slipped it behind his couch to join the months-old pile of empty chip bags littered back there.

He wouldn't be needing it.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope that was an okay ending. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed through this entire thing, especially tlh45 who helped me with some ideas along the way. If you have any ideas for stories you want to see from me, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks again!


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